Godrejsplende at 20:55, 19 January 2026

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{{Short description|Indian dancer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{ infobox person
| name = Alarmel Valli
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|09|14|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Chennai]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| awards = {{Unbulleted list|[[Padma Bhushan]]|[[Padma Shri]]}}
| other_names =
| known_for = [[Pandanallur style]] of [[Bharatnatyam]]
| occupation = [[Indian classical dance]]r, [[choreographer]]
| website = {{url|alarmelvalli.org}}
| spouse = [[Bhaskar Ghose]]
}}

'''Alarmel Valli''' (born 14 September 1956) is an [[Indian classical dancer]] and [[Bharatanatyam]]-[[Pandanallur style|Pandanallur]] choreographer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sparkling show of style: There was never a dull moment in Alarmel Valli's performance.|url=http://www.hindu.com/ms/2009/01/07/stories/2009010750040300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604113030/http://www.hindu.com/ms/2009/01/07/stories/2009010750040300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 June 2011|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=7 January 2009}}</ref><ref name=th>{{cite web|title=The best of music and dance |url=http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=The+best+of+music+and+dance&artid=5zAjSCeiICE=&SectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&MainSectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&SEO=&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A/07OVZOOEmts|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120518002640/http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=The+best+of+music+and+dance&artid=5zAjSCeiICE=&SectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&MainSectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&SEO=&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A/07OVZOOEmts|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 May 2012|publisher=Express Buzz|date=9 January 2010}}</ref>

She founded The Dipasikha Dance Foundation in [[Chennai]] in 1984, where she teaches [[Bharatanatyam]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Transcending barriers: Alarmel Valli on the language of dance|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/transcending-barriers-alarmel-valli-on-the-language-of-dance/368596/0|work=[[Indian Express]]|date=2 October 2008}}</ref>

In 1991, Alarmel Valli was the second youngest dancer to be conferred the [[Padma Shri]] from the Government of India, after [[Vyjayanthimala]]. She was awarded the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] in 2001 by India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama,<ref name=sr/> followed by the [[Padma Bhushan]] award from the Government of India in 2004<ref>{{cite web|title=Padma Bhushan Awardees|publisher=[[Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (India)|Ministry of Communications and Information Technology]]|url=http://india.gov.in/myindia/padmabhushan_awards_list1.php|access-date=28 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090605073347/http://india.gov.in/myindia/padmabhushan_awards_list1.php|archive-date=5 June 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> and Chevalier of Arts and Letters award from the [[Government of France]], also in 2004.

==Career==
She made her stage debut at 9 ½ at The Indian Institute of Fine Arts, Madras, and was conferred the Natya Kala Bhushan award. She won her laurels on the international scene when she was barely 16 at the International Dance Festival of the prestigious [[Sarah Bernhardt]] [[Théâtre de la Ville]] in Paris and has performed in landmark theatres and festivals ever since,<ref>{{cite news|title=Art is where the heart is ...|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/dance/article21978.ece|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=18 September 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Natural and poetic|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/dance/article75804.ece|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=6 January 2010}}</ref> both in India and aboard.<ref>{{cite news|title=Review/Dance; Indian View of Humanity And Divinity|author= Jack Anderson|author-link= Jack Anderson (dance critic)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/23/arts/review-dance-indian-view-of-humanity-and-divinity.html?pagewanted=1|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=23 June 1991}}</ref><ref name=Marsh>{{cite web| last1=Steve |first1=Marsh | title=Mpls/St. Paul Magazine: "What Ragamala Dance Company's New Show Says About Life and Death" - Ranee Ramaswamy, along with her daughters, Aparna and Ashwini, are using Bharatanatyam, an ancient Hindu dance form, to help us understand modern life... and death.|url=https://www.ragamaladance.org/news-listing/mspmagazineramaswamy|work=Mpls.St.Paul Magazine|publisher=MSP Communications|date=March 15, 2022 |access-date=July 30, 2022| page=}}</ref>

Her research in classical [[Tamil literature]] and the anthologies of the 2000-year-old [[Sangam literature|Sangam poetry]] has resulted in a significant repertoire of dance poems. Over the years, she has evolved her distinct style within the framework of classical Bharatanatyam.<ref name="k">[http://www.keralawomen.gov.in/mainarticle.php?id=120 Alarmel Valli Biography]{{dead link|date=June 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}, keralawomen.gov.in; accessed 13 May 2017.</ref>

Among her leading students are Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy of the [[Ragamala Dance Company]] in [[Minneapolis]]<ref name=Marsh/> and [[Meenakshi Srinivasan]].

Some highlights of Alarmél Valli's international career include her performances at the [[Bolshoi Theatre]], The Vienna International Dance Festival, [[Munich Opera Festival|The Munich Opera Festival]], [[The Edinburgh Festival]], The New York International Festival of Arts, [[Festival d'Avignon|The Avignon Festival]], [[Cervantino Festival|The Cervantino Festival]], the Lyon Biennale, The [[Venice Biennale]], [[The Royal Albert Hall]] and [[Queen Elizabeth Hall]] in London, The Helsinki Biennale, The Millennium Festival in Berlin and The Frankfurt Alt Oper. In July 2015, she was the first Indian classical dancer to perform at the [[Salzburg Festival]].

==In popular culture==
{{BLP unsourced section|date=May 2017}}
A film on Alarmel Valli was made for the [[Omnibus (UK TV series)|Omnibus series]], on [[BBC One]], by producer [[Michael Macintyre]]. Alarmel Valli has also been featured in dance documentaries by noted Indian producers like the late [[G. Aravindan]] and [[Prakash Jha]], by the BBC (in The Spirit of Asia Series), the Netherlands Broadcasting Company, Arte (France), and Japanese National Television. The [[Films Division of India]] commissioned a film, titled 'Pravahi', on her for the [[National Archives of India]]. It was directed by eminent filmmaker Arun Khopkar, with cinematography by [[Madhu Ambat]]. In 2011, ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdiAMUOyHTg Lasya Kavya]'', a documentary about Alarmel Valli by award-winning director, Sankalp Meshram, won the [[National Film Award for Best Arts/Cultural Film]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Moving Grace|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/moving-grace/931263/|work=[[Indian Express]]|date=2 April 2012|access-date=30 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="Sruti">{{cite web |date=29 November 2012 |title=Lasya Kavya in Washington DC on US Election Eve! |url=http://srutimag.blogspot.com/2012/11/lasya-kavya-in-washington-dc-on-us.html |access-date=30 July 2022 |work=[[Sruti (magazine)|Sruti Magazine]]}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Alarmel Valli is married to [[Bhaskar Ghose]], an [[Indian Administrative Service|Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Hindi theatre is in a sad mess|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/09/10/stories/2005091000210400.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907162436/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/09/10/stories/2005091000210400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 September 2012|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=2005-09-10|access-date=18 February 2012}}</ref>

== Selected awards and honours==

* 1979: State award of ''[[Kalaimamani]]'' from [[Tamil Nadu Government]]
* 1980: Nrithya Vikas, from Sur Singar, Mumbai
* 1985: Nritya Choodamani, from Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai.
* 1991: [[Padma Sri]] from the Government of India.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf|title=Padma Awards|publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India|date=2015|access-date=21 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf|archive-date=15 October 2015}}</ref>
* 1997: Awarded the Grande Medaille (Medal) by the City of Paris.
* 2001: [[Sangeet Natak Academy Award]], New Delhi<ref name=sr>{{cite web|url=http://www.sangeetnatak.org/sna/awardeeslist.htm |title=SNA: Awardeeslist:: |access-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217185616/http://www.sangeetnatak.org/sna/awardeeslist.htm |archive-date=17 February 2012 }}</ref>
* 2004: [[Padma Bhushan]] from the Government of India
* 2004: [[Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres|Chevalier of Arts and Letters]] award from the [[Government of France]]<ref name=th/><ref>{{cite news|title=Dancing takes me places|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2004/04/13/stories/2004041300200100.htm|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=13 April 2004|access-date=1 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610060229/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2004/04/13/stories/2004041300200100.htm|archive-date=10 June 2010|url-status=usurped|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* 2012: Naatya Padmam from Brahma Gana Sabha, Chennai
* 2014: Natya Utsav Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai
* 2015: Natya Kala Acharya award from The Music Academy, Chennai
* 2018: Nritya Peroli award from Karthik Fine Arts, Chennai

==See also==
* [[Bharatnatyam]]
* [[Indian women in dance]]

==External links==
* [http://www.alarmelvalli.org/ Alarmel Valli's Official Website]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2000–09}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valli, Alarmel}}
[[Category:Bharatanatyam dancers]]
[[Category:Odissi dancers]]
[[Category:Indian dance teachers]]
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:University of Madras alumni]]
[[Category:Artists from Chennai]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]]
[[Category:Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]]
[[Category:Indian classical choreographers]]
[[Category:Indian female classical dancers]]
[[Category:Indian women choreographers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]
[[Category:Dancers from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:Women educators from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Teachers of Indian classical dance]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women educators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women artists]]
[[Category:Women artists from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Educators from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Stella Maris College, Chennai alumni]]

Alarmel Valli - Revision history

Godrejsplende at 20:55, 19 January 2026