Chandralekha
Chandralekha Prabhudas Patel (born December 6, 1928 in Wada , Maharashtra , † December 30, 2006 in Chennai , Tamil Nadu ) was an Indian dance artist and choreographer .
Life
Chandralekha was considered the grande dame of modern Indian dance and was also its most controversial choreographer. As the star of the classical dance Bharatnatyam in the 1950s and 1960s, she later turned away from traditional and commercial dance and created a new dance form that was famous for its eroticism and emphasis on the female body.
In 1962 she gave up active dancing and turned exclusively to choreography. From 1972 she was only active as a writer for 12 years and campaigned for women's and human rights . She returned to the stage as a choreographer in 1984. In 1991 she received a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in the Creative Dance / Choreography section. In 2004 she was elected a Fellow of the Academy .
Chandralekha died of cancer shortly before midnight on December 30, 2006 in Chennai , where she had lived to the end.
Web links
- Obituary in The Guardian, February 9, 2007
- Chandralekhas Dance Company - Pioneer of New Indian Dance , culturebase.net
- The dance of Chandralekha, legendary dancer from south India (engl.)
- Award of the "Kalidas Samman" , hinduonnet.com (engl.)
- "A Hovering Self, Not Man or Woman" , New York Times , November 20, 1998
- "World's Changing Morals" , The Tribune ( Chandigarh / India), March 17, 2001
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Chandralekha |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Patel, Chandralekha Prabhudas (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Indian dance artist and choreographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 6, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wada , Maharashtra |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 30, 2006 |
| Place of death | Chennai , Tamil Nadu |