Kalamandalam Kshemavathy

Kalamandalam Kshemavathy
Kshemavathy at a performance
Born	1948 (age 75–76)
Occupation	Mohiniyattam dancer
Website	www.kshemavathy.com

Kalamandalam Kshemavathy (born 1948) is a Mohiniyattam dancer from Thrissur, Kerala. She is an alumna of the reputed Kerala Kalamandalam. She joined the institute when she was ten. After completion of the course, she undertook advanced training in Bharata Natyam under Muthuswami Pillai and Chitra Visweswaran, and in Kuchipudi under Vempati Chinna Satyam, but chose to remain within the Mohiniyattam tradition. She has been in the field for 47 years.

Credentials

She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2011 for her contributions to Mohinyattam. She has also received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, and Nrithya Natya Puraskara.

Kshemavathy is known for her abhinaya and traditionalist approach to the art form. She encourages research and believes that experimentation is inevitable, but must be explored leaving the basics of the art form untarnished. Her dance school has attracted international talents from Germany, France, Sweden and Finland in the past. She continues to be noticed.

She has done a lot of innovative choreographies. She has given a visual representation for about 100 poems, including those of cherrusseri and sugathakumari, "kuchelavrittam", classics like chinthavishtayaya seetha, leela etc., and even ghazals. She is a teacher with a large number of students.

Personal life

Kshemavathy is the wife of well known film director late V.K Pavithran. She has two daughters, Eva Pavithran and Lakshmi Pavithran.