The Mamallapuram Dance Festival is held every year More...

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BALASARASWATHI: In his book "Balasaraswathi", Narayan Menon says, "The dancer, in addition to the qualities that pure dancing demands, must be sensitive to and have an uncanny feeling for music. He or she should have an artist's sensibility to the significant line and a sculptor's approach to form. He should have a practised actor's response to a dramatic situation. Rarely does one come across all these attributes in one and the same person. But when one does, and Balasarswathi has a generous measure of all these, the result is greatness." Balasaraswathi, born in the year 1918, was a direct descendant of the dancers and musicians who performed at the Tanjore court during the Maratha rule. Her ancestor Papammal was a court musician and dancer, while her grandmother's sister, Vina Dhanam was a reputed veena player. Her mother too was a noted singer. Bala, as she was affectionately called, began her training in dance and music at the age of four under Kandappa. Kandappa's great-grandfather was Chinnayya who belonged to the famous Tanjore Quartette.

Bala performed her arangetram (formal debut) at the age of seven. Even at that tender age she was acclaimed by critics and connoisseurs alike as a prodigy. As a child, she performed some of the most difficult items, stunning the audience with her mastery of movement and a power of expression beyond her age.