Yamini Krishnamurthy: vibrant dancer who strived hard to take Bharatanatyam to the global stage

Yamini Krishnamurthy’s performances sparkled with energy.
| Photo Credit: File photo

Renowned classical dancer Yamini Krishnamurthy passed away on August 3 after a prolonged illness. She was 83.

Her mortal remains will be kept at her dance school, Nritya Kaustubha, in Hauz Khas in Delhi on August 4 for her students and admirers to pay their last respects.

Ms. Krishnamurthy is credited with popularising Bharatanatyam in North India, as early as in the 1960s, when she chose Delhi as her home. Not content with this, she strove to take the dance form to the global stage, and like sitar maestro Pt. Ravi Shankar became a sought after name internationally.

Known for her vibrant approach, Ms. Krishnamurthy’s dance sparkled with energy.

Though she trained under the great masters of the time, she lent her own distinct touch to the technique without diluting the grammar. Her stances, facial expressions, and movements were strikingly precise. She inspired generations of dancers to pursue the art form.

She was born on December 20, 1940 at Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh. Her father was a Sanskrit scholar and her grandfather an Urdu poet. Her training in Bharatanatyam began at a very early age at Kalakshetra in Chennai. After mastering the basics, she learnt from eminent gurus such as Kanchipuram Ellappa Pillai, Kittappa Pillai, Dhandayuthapani Pillai, and Mylapore Gowri Ammal.

She also gained proficiency in Kuchipudi under Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Sastri and Chinta Krishnamurthi. A versatile artiste, she learnt Odissi from Pankaj Charan Das and Kelucharan Mohapatra.

Chidambaram days

The dancer, whose debut performance was in Chennai in 1957, always spoke about the days she spent as a five-year-old in Chidambaram, and how the town, famed for the Lord of dance, Nataraja, drew her to the art.

Her first student and Bharatanatyam dancer Rama Vaidyanathan said, “I always felt privileged to be guided by her because I was in awe of her persona and art. Though she never lost her temper when teaching, we knew what she exactly she expected us to do and how it should be done.”

Geeta Chandran, a Delhi-based Bharatanatyam dancer, said, “She ruled the dance world for a long time and the high standard she set as a soloist is hard to surpass. She was the go-to dancer when it came to prestigious national and global events. Like M.S. Subbulakshmi and Ustad Bismillah Khan, she became a cultural ambassador. Along with her scholar-father, she explored both the philosophical and spiritual aspects of the art. With her father’s guidance, she gathered amazing material to mount her artistic work on. Though her last days were spent in loneliness, she did not lose her love for dance and was always eager to know what was happening in the field. It’s a great loss to the dance fraternity, but her life will continue to serve as a valuable lesson.”

People were often struck by her arresting presence. “Her eyes did all the talking. She had an aura about her. When you met and spoke to her, you realised that she was a born artiste,” said Chennai-based Bharatanatyam dancer Priyadarsini Govind.