Q. Give information about the contribution of Smt. Rukmini Devi in the field of Bharatanatyam.
Ans: Smt. Rukmini Devi’s arrival on the dance scene in the year 1935, opened a new direction in the history of Bharatanatyam dance. She saw a Bharatanatyam performance by Pandanallur sisters and started learning from the revered Guru – Shri. Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai and Abhinaya from Mylapore Gauri Amma. She revived the art and redesigned it, emphasising the element of Bhakti Shringara. She chose beautiful compositions from Sanskrit as well as Tanjore brothers. Her greatest contribution is that she established “Kalakshetra” a temple of Arts where great scholars assisted her with studies of Abhinaya Darpana & Natyashastra. She has choreographed 25 dance dramas and made some welcome changes. She introduced Veena and Flute, Costumes were designed artistically and temple jewelry was used which gave an over all beauty of Aharya Abhinaya. She revived the traditional Tamil literature and presented 3 beautiful Kurvanjis. She gave the art of Bharatanatyam its respect in the society.