Balasaraswati: Her Art and LifeThis is the first complete biography of T. Balasaraswati (1918–1984), a dancer and musician from southern India who became recognized worldwide as one of the great performing artists of the twentieth century. In India she was a legend in her own time, acclaimed before she was thirty years old as the great dancer of traditional bharata natyam. Balasaraswati was a passionate revolutionary, an entirely modern artist whose impact was proclaimed by some of the most prominent figures in contemporary dance in India and the West. Her art and life defined the heart of a tradition. Her life story offers an extraordinary view of the enigmatic matrilineal devadasi community and traditional artistic practice from which modern South Indian dance styles have emerged. This deeply engaging biography draws together Balasaraswati’s personal account of her life and her reflections on the process of making dance and music. It includes the commentary of family members and dozens of contemporaries from throughout her fifty-year career, revealing hereditary artistic values and conventions that have virtually disappeared in modern India. The book is generously illustrated with rare historical photos and a duotone gallery of distinguished photographers’ images of Balasaraswati’s dancing. Hardcover is un-jacketed. |
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One of the most scholarly books written on the subject.
Contents
From the Heart of the Tradition | 1 |
Madras and Environs | 8 |
Madman at the Gate 19181927 | 17 |
Mowbrays Road Madras ca 1895 | 21 |
Vina Dhanammal ca 1935 | 38 |
Ammanakshi Amman Temple Kanchipuram | 57 |
Renaissance 19271936 | 60 |
Studio portrait ofBalasaraswati 1934 | 84 |
Balasaraswati with Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastri Madras ca 1948 | 139 |
Recipients ofPresidents Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Delhi 1955 | 155 |
Balasaraswati and daughter Lakshmi Shanmukham 1956 | 169 |
On the Back of a Peacock 19611972 | 185 |
Something Great and Grand 19721984 | 225 |
Acknowledgments | 253 |
Select Biographies | 255 |
Notes | 267 |
Reconstruction 19361947 | 100 |
Balasaraswati in Egmore ca 1938 | 108 |
Balasaraswati in concert at Rajaji Hall early 1940s | 122 |
Dancing for Murugan 19471961 | 138 |
Glossary | 285 |
| 297 | |
| 307 | |
Common terms and phrases
abhinaya arangetram artists audience Bala Bala danced Bala performed Bala’s Balasaraswati Balasaraswati’s family became began bhakti bharata natyam Bombay career century composed concert cultural Dance Festival dancer daughter Delhi devadasi ensemble family’s Ganapati Ganesha gestures guru hereditary Hindu India interview with Luise interview with Smita Iyer Jacob’s Pillow javalis Jayammal Jayammal’s Kamakshi Kamakshi Ammal Kanchipuram Kandappa Pillai Kapila Vatsyayan karnatic music Krishna kuravanji Lakshmi Lakshmi Knight later learned Luise Scripps Madras Music Academy mother movement mridangam Mudaliar Muktha Murugan music and dance musicians Mylapore Mylapore Gauri Ammal nagaswaram Naidu nattuvanar North ofIndia ofthe padams performing arts practice professional raga Ranga Ranganathan repertoire rhythmic Rukmini Devi Sangeet Natak Akademi Sanskrit Sastri Shankaran singer singing Smita Shah song South Indian Sringara student style Sundaram Tamil taught teacher teaching temple Thanjavur Quartet tion tirmanams tour Uday Shankar varnam Vina Dhanammal Vina Dhanammal’s Viswa Viswanathan Wesleyan
Bibliographic information
| Title | Balasaraswati: Her Art and Life The Driftless Series |
| Author | Douglas M. Knight |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Wesleyan University Press, 2010 |
| ISBN | 0819569062, 9780819569066 |
| Length | 325 pages |
| Subjects | › › Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts Biography & Autobiography / General Biography & Autobiography / Women History / Asia / General Performing Arts / Dance / General Social Science / Women's Studies |
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