Kalamandalam Kshemavathy (born 1948) is a Mohiniyattam dancer from

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

, Kerala. She is an alumna of the Kerala Kalamandalam. She joined the institute when she was ten. After completion of the course, she undertook advanced training in Bharata Natyam under Muthuswamy Pillai and Chitra Visweswaran, and in Kuchipudi under Vempati Chinna Satyam, but chose to remain within the Mohiniyattam tradition.

Credentials

She was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 2011 for her contributions to Mohinyattam. She has also received the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

, She received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 1975 (for Bharatanatyam) and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 2015. Kshemavathy is known for her abhinaya and traditionalist approach to the art form. She encourages research and believes that experimentation is inevitable, but must be explored leaving the basics of the art form untarnished. Her dance school has attracted international talents from Germany, France, Sweden and Finland in the past. She has given a visual representation for about 100 poems, including those of cherrusseri and sugathakumari, "kuchelavrittam", classics like chinthavishtayaya seetha, leela etc., and even ghazals. She is a teacher with a large number of students.

Personal life

Kshemavathy was the wife of V. K. Pavithran. She has two daughters, Eva Pavithran and Lakshmi Pavithran.

Filmography

As actress

As Choreographer

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kshemavathy, Kalamandalam Indian female classical dancers Mohiniyattam exponents Dancers from Kerala 1948 births Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Date of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Malayali people People from Thrissur 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian women artists Women artists from Kerala 21st-century Indian dancers 21st-century Indian women artists Actresses in Malayalam cinema Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Teachers of Indian classical dance