Dr. R.L.V. Ramakrishnan is an Indian classical dancer and film actor from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in 2019 and currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of

Bharatanatyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.< ...

Kerala Kalamandalam Kerala Kalamandalam, a deemed-to-be-University of Art and Culture by the Government of India, is a major centre for learning Indian performing arts, especially those that developed in the country's southern states, with special emphasis on tho ...

. In 2022, he was honored with the

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultu ...

for his contributions to

Mohiniyattam ''Mohiniyattam'' is an Indian classical dance form originating from the state of Kerala. The dance gets its name from Mohini – the female enchantress avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu, who helps the devas prevail over the asuras using h ...

Early life

Dr. R.L.V Ramakrishnan was born in

Chalakudy Chalakudy () is a municipal town situated on the banks of Chalakudy River in Thrissur district of the Kerala state in India. It is the headquarters of Chalakudy taluk. It is the base camp for travellers to Athirappilly Falls and Vazhachal Falls ...

. His brother is

Kalabhavan Mani Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a Impersonator, mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had ...

. He was a ''Kalaprathibha'' from the MG University in 2001. Dr. Ramakrishnan is a male

dancer from Kerala, known for his contributions to the art form traditionally performed by women. Hailing from a dedicated artistic family, Dr. Ramakrishnan began his classical dance journey at the age of 10 under the tutelage of Guru RLV Anand Master. He has an academic background in

, having completed both a Diploma and Post-Diploma with First Class honors from RLV College, Tripunithura. He later earned a Masters degree in

, securing the First Rank from Mahatma Gandhi University, and pursued an M.Phil. from Kerala Kalamandalam, Deemed University.

Career

Dr. Ramakrishnan obtained a Ph.D. in

from

under the guidance of Dr. N. K. Geetha. His doctoral research, titled "Masculine Heritage in Dance: An Enquiry Based on Mohiniyattam," explores the potential of male dancers in this traditionally female-dominated dance form. He is a qualified UGC-NET scholar in Performing Arts and holds the "A Top" grade from Doordarshan Kendra, New Delhi. Dr. Ramakrishnan has performed at many national and international festivals in Kerala and abroad including the Nishagandhi Dance Festival, Soorya Festival, Kerala Cultural Tourism Festival,

Mrinalini Sarabhai Mrinalini Vikram Sarabhai (11 May 1918 – 21 January 2016) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. She was the founder and director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, ...

Dharpana dance festivel Gujarat, Devadasi festival Odisha, AIDA Festival Chhattisgarh and Naadam Festival, among others. In addition to his performances, he has presented papers at UGC-approved national and international seminars on

. Dr. Ramakrishnan has served as a Guest Lecturer in

at RLV College and Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS), Kalady. His contributions to

have earned him several accolades, including the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Puraskaram, the Kerala Kshetra Kala Puraskaram, Devadasi Puraskar from Odisha and the CCRT Senior Fellowship (National) in

. Dr. Ramakrishnan also earned an M.A. in

with a Second Rank from

Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit The Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) is a Sanskrit university in India established in 1993 When Indian Union Muslim league leader Sri. ET Muhammed Basheer was the. Education minister of Kerala in Kalady, Kochi, Kerala. The founda ...

. In January 2024, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor of

at the

. Dr. Ramakrishnan is the first male

teacher in the history of the

Filmography and discography

Awards and papers

Controversies

In October 2020, Dr. Ramakrishnan was denied a chance to perform Mohiniyattam in the online dance festival program of Kerala Sangeet Natak Academy which led to controversy. He allegedly attempted suicide after experiencing caste discrimination.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramakrishnan, R. L. V Living people Mohiniyattam exponents Dancers from Kerala Malayali people Indian male film actors Male actors from Thrissur People from Chalakudy Male actors from Kerala Year of birth missing (living people) Mohiniyattam Teachers of Indian classical dance Artists from Kerala