- Pandanallur style
The Pandanallur style of
Bharata Natyam is mainly attributed to Minakshisundaram Pillai (1869–1954). He was a dance Guru who lived in the village ofPandanallur , which is in theThanjavur district in thesouth India n state ofTamil Nadu .The Teachers
Minakshisundaram Pillai was an ancestral nattuvanar who was descended from the Tanjore Quartet, which refers to four brothers: Chinnaiah, Ponniah, Sivanandam and Vadivel. The works of these four brothers, who were court composers in the early 1800s in Thanjavur, form the main classical masterpieces of Bharata Natyam.
Minakshisundaram Pillai was said to have been trained by his uncle Kumarasamy Nattuvanar. He trained several famous Bharata Natyam dancers including devadasis such as Pandanallur Jayalakshmi, Thangachi Ammal, Sabaranjitam, as well as people from other castes such as Mrinalini Sarabhai, Rukmini Devi, and others.
After Minakshisundaram Pillai, it was his son-in-law Chokkalingam Pillai (1893–1968) who became the doyen Guru of the Pandanallur style. His leading dancer-student was
Mambalam Geetha . He also trained other leading dancers such as G. Kausalya, Sucharita,Indrani Rehman , and others. He moved to Madras and taught there.Subbaraya Pillai (1914–), Chokkalingam Pillai's son, was the next leading Guru of the Pandanallur style. He grew up in the village of Pandanallur and was an apprentice under his grandfather and father. He trained leading dancers such as
Alarmel Valli ,Meenakshi Chitharanjan , and others.tyle
The Pandanallur style has a reputation for its emphasis on linear geometry in "adavu" technique and for intensity and understatement in "abhinaya".
The Pandanallur style is renowned for its masterpieces in choreography: some of the main gems in its repertoire are the Nine or Ten Tanjore Quartet "pada-varnams" (Sakiye, Sami Ninne, Mogamana, Danike, Adimogam, Yemanthayanara, Yemaguva, Sami Nee Ramanave, Sarasijanaba) for which Minakshisundaram Pillai composed the choreography: both dramatic choreography which he called simply "hands" as well as the "adavu" choreography for the "swara" passages.
Also part of their heritage are the valuable jatiswarams (in "ragams Vasantha, Saveri, Chakravakam, Kalyani, Bairavi"), which are miniature masterpieces of elegant abstract "adavu" choreography.
There is a large body of choreography that also goes by the name of "Pandanallur" created by various dancers and teachers who have branched off from these three main gurus. But there is a marked falling off in the quality of the choreography in these other styles.Fact|date=February 2007
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