Kalaimamani
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (2012) Winner
Bala Devi Chandrashekar
バーラ・デーヴィー・チャンドラシェーカル
Bara Dēvī Chandrashekāru
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English, Tamil
- Religion
- Hinduism
- Residence History
- Princeton, New Jersey
Career
- Occupations
- dancer, choreographer, teacher, public administrator, management consultant
- Active Years
- 2010-
- Affiliations
- Shree Padma Nrityam Academy, Carl A. Fields Center, Princeton University
- Influenced By
- Padma Subrahmanyam
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Kalaimamani | Bharatanatyam | Bharatanatyam | Government of Tamil Nadu | winner |
Kalaimamani
2012
Work:
Bharatanatyam
Category:
Bharatanatyam
Organization:
Government of Tamil Nadu
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Padmavati – An Avatar
2023 BharatanatyamA captivating operatic Bharatanatyam production based on Jayadeva’s poetry.
AvatarPoetry
Brihadeeswara – Form to Formless
2019 BharatanatyamPresented at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris during World Heritage Week, focusing on the architectural and spiritual dimensions of the Thanjavur temple.
Temple architectureSpirituality
Karna: Destiny’s Child
2019 BharatanatyamPerformed at the Attikon Theatre in Cyprus, exploring the Mahabharata character Karna through Bharatanatyam.
MahabharataDestiny
Maa – The Eternal Truth
2023 BharatanatyamAn operatic production on motherhood and nature, premiered at R.K. Swamy Hall, Mylapore, Chennai.
MotherhoodNature
Nandanar Charithram
BharatanatyamBased on the 19th-century Tamil devotional narrative of Nandanar.
Devotion
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Vazhuvoor style of Padma Subrahmanyam school
- Recurring Motifs
- temple architectureclassical textsphilosophyfusion with music
Legacy
Specialized in Bharatanatyam, has choreographed and performed over ten major solo thematic productions blending scholarship, temple architecture, classical texts, and music into operatic presentations. The only Bharatanatyam exponent to have presented at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (2018, 2024) and at India House during the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Trivia
- Based in Princeton, New Jersey, married to Chandrashekar and has two sons.
- Has performed Bharatanatyam to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
- Performed for the Madras Music Season.