Kanak Rele
| Kanak Rele | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
June 11, 1937 Gujarat, India |
| Occupation | Classical dancer Choreographer Academic |
| Known for | Mohiniyattom |
| Awards |
Padma Bhushan Padma Shri Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Kalidas Samman Gaurav Puraskar Kala Vipanchee M. S. Subbulakshmi Award |
| Website | Website of Nalanda Dance Research Centre |
Dr. Kanak Rele ( Marathi - कनक रेले) (born 11 June 1937) is an Indian dancer, choreographer and academic best known as an exponent of Mohiniyattom. She is the founder-director of the Nalanda Dance Research Centre and the founder-principal of the Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya in Mumbai.
Born in Gujarat, Dr. Rele spent a part of her childhood in Santiniketan and in Kolkata with her uncle. At Santiniketan she had the opportunity to watch Kathakali and Mohiniattam performances which she claims helped shape her artistic sensibilities. She is qualified lawyer with an LLB from the Government Law College, Mumbai and a diploma in international law from the University of Manchester. She also holds a Ph.D in dance from the University of Mumbai.
Dr. Rele is also a Kathakali artiste having been trained under Guru "Panchali" Karunakara Panicker since the age of seven. Her initiation into Mohiniattam came much later under Kalamandalam Rajalakshmi. A grant from the Sangeet Natak Akademi and later the Ford Foundation helped her delve deeper into her interest in Mohinattam and during 1970–71 she traveled to Kerala filming exponents of the dance form such as Kunjukutty Amma, Chinnammu Amma and Kalyanikutty Amma. The project helped acquaint her with the nuances of Mohiniattam and record its traditional and technical styles while also enabling her to evolve a teaching methodology for it. Her study of these artistes and their technique against the backdrop of classical texts like Natyasastra, Hastalakshanadeepika and Balaramabharatam led her to develop her own style of Mohiniattam dubbed the 'Kanaka Rele School' of Mohinattam.
...
Wikipedia