Tanjore Balasaraswati

Born: 13 May 1918

Died: 9 February 1984

• She also known as Balasaraswati  was a celebrated Indian dancer, and her rendering of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance style originated in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, made this style of dancing well known in different parts of India and many parts of the world.
• She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1957 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1977, the third and the second highest civilian honours given by the Government of India.
•  In 1981 she was awarded the Sangeetha Kalasikhamani award of The Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai.
• She received numerous awards in India, including the President’s Award from the Sangeet Natak Akademi (1955), Padma Vibushan from the Government of India for distinguished national service (1977) and Sangita Kalanidhi from the Madras Music Academy, South India’s highest award for musicians (1973).
• In a review in 1977, the New York Times dance critic Anna Kisselgoff described her as one of the “supreme performing artists in the world”.
• India Today, one of the leading news magazine of India, based on a survey, classified her as one of the 100 prominent Indians who have shaped the destiny of India.
• She was the only non-western dancer included in a compilation of the Dance Heritage Coalition, “America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures: The First 100” (2000).

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