Bharati Shivaji is an Indian classical dancer of Mohiniyattom, choreographer and author, known for her contributions to the art form by way of performance, research and propagation.
13 Facts About Bharati Shivaji
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Bharati Shivaji is the founder of Center for Mohiniyattam, a dance academy promoting Mohiniyattom and the co-author of two books, Art of Mohiniyattom and Mohiniyattom.
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Bharati Shivaji is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Sahitya Kala Parishad Samman.
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Bharati Shivaji was born in 1948 in the temple town of Kumbakonam, in Tanjavur district of the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and had her early training in Bharatnatyam under Lalita Shastri and Odissi under Kelucharan Mohapatra.
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Bharati Shivaji is known to have contributed to the evolution of the dance tradition, by adding more languor to the already languorous discipline, and by adapting it to other dance forms such as ballet; her Mohiniyattom adaptation of the Swan Lake of Tchaikovsky, choreographed along with her daughter, Vijayalakshmi, is one such effort.
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Bharati Shivaji's productions include adaptations of Bhanusinger Padavali of Rabindranath Tagore, Chandrotsavam of the Manipravalam, Somastuthi from the Rig Veda, and the Devagita, from Ashtapadi.
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Bharati Shivaji is known to have incorporated postures, movements and music from other Traditional art forms of Kerala such as Ottamthullal, Kaikottikali, Thayambaka and Krishnanattam into Mohiniyattom, a legacy from her tutelage under Kavalam Narayana Panicker.
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In 1986, Bharati Shivaji published his first book, Art of Mohiniyattam, co-authored by Avinash Pasricha.
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Bharati Shivaji published another book, Mohiniyattam, co-written by her daughter, Vijayalakshmi, herself a noted Mohiniyattom performer, in 2003.
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Bharati Shivaji has performed on several stages in India and abroad and has taught many Indian and foreign students.
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Bharati Shivaji continues her research by visiting temples and gives lecture-demonstrations on the dance form at conferences and seminars.
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Bharati Shivaji is a recipient of the Sahitya Kala Parishad Samman, Lasya Lakshmi title from Kunchan Nambiar Memorial Trust, Kerala and Nritya Choodamani title from the Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai.
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Bharati Shivaji won the Nishagandhi Puraskaram of the Government of Kerala in 2017.