Bala saraswati singer family foundation
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Born on May 13, 1918, she rose to prominence through her exceptional talent and dedication to the art form. Her formal training in dance commenced at the tender age of four, under the tutelage of the esteemed dance teacher K. Kandappan Pillai, a member of the renowned Thanjavur Nattuvanar family. Codified in the 19th century, the artform was passed down through generations within the Devadasi tradition, in which women were dedicated to temples and trained to perform the dance as part of worship.
Balasaraswati: Her Art and Life. The impact of the art of this great lady, once described by Dr. Narayana Menon as “perhaps the greatest Indian dancer of the past thousand years,” provided the original inspiration for Luise and Samuel Scripps to found and fund the American Society for Eastern Arts (ASEA) in 1963. Equally important, she became the leading ambassador of South Indian classical dance to the world, being invited during the 1960s, 70s, and early 80s for repeated tours and residencies in the United States, Europe, Japan, and elsewhere.
A great artist, greatest of all living bharata natyam dancers .
Her impact reached far beyond India`s borders, as evidenced by her inclusion as the only non-western dancer in the Dance Heritage Coalition`s compilation, "America`s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures: The First 100" in 2000. Furthermore, acclaimed Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray created a documentary highlighting Balasaraswati`s remarkable contributions to the arts.
As the global village becomes smaller, classical Indian dance, replete with bobbing heads, deep pliés and filigreed fingers, has made Bollywood-style dance a fixture in television, Broadway shows and film.
About T.Balasaraswati
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Watching Bala Perform
"Throughout the 1930s she captured the imagination of audiences all across India."
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "At age seven she had her arangetram (debut public performance) at a shrine to the goddess Devi in the city of Kanchipuram and stunned the audience with her rhythmically executed movements.
Notably, her son-in-law, Douglas M. Knight, Jr., authored her biography with the support of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2003. Beginning in the 1930s, the dance was brought from the temples to the proscenium stage. . Bala performed in 1962 at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and at the 1963 Edinburgh Festival, and she was lauded by Martha Graham and Margot Fonteyn.
Though Balasaraswati died in Madras, India, (now Chennai) in 1984, Lakshmi opened and directed a Balasaraswati School of Indian Music and Dance in New Jersey until her death in 2001.
There is still a school in Chennai, where Lakshmi’s son, Aniruddha Knight, heads the facility and is the last direct inheritor of the music and dance traditions preserved in his family for nine generations.
Balasaraswati`s younger brothers, T. Ranganathan and T. Viswanathan, also became notable musicians in India and even showcased their talent in the United States. These took place at Mills College in Oakland, California in the summers of 1965, 1966, and 1972, as well as in Bali, Indonesia in 1971. . Her debut outside the region took place in Kolkata (former Calcutta) in 1934, captivating audiences with her unparalleled talent.
The link to the documentary is included under Media-Videos.
Tanjore Balasaraswati, also known as Balasaraswati was a renowned Indian dancer who left an indelible mark on the world of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance style originating from Tamil Nadu.