Yamini Krishnamurthy
Mungara Yamini Krishnamurthy (20 December 1940 – 3 August 2024) was an Indian classical dancer recognized for her contributions to Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. She was a recipient of the Padma Shri (1968), Padma Bhushan (2001), Padma Vibhushan (2016) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1977).
Also recorded as torch bearer" of Kuchipudi form of dance · Mungara Yamini Krishnamurthy
Yamini Krishnamurthy
Anjali Reddy J · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Born
- 1940 · Madanapalle.
- Died
- 2024 · New Delhi.
- Nationality
- India · British Raj · Dominion of India
- Occupation
- dancer · musician · singer
- Fields
- kuchipudi · Carnatic music · Bharatanatyam · Odissi
- Honours
- Sangeet Natak Akademi Award · Padma Bhushan · Padma Shri · Padma Vibhushan · Fellow of the Sangeet Natak Akademi
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Mungara Yamini Krishnamurthy (20 December 1940 – 3 August 2024) was an Indian classical dancer recognized for her contributions to Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. She was a recipient of the Padma Shri (1968), Padma Bhushan (2001), Padma Vibhushan (2016) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1977).
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Note VALÉORINE
Yamini Krishnamurthy (1940–2024) was a dancer, musician and singer, a national of the British Raj and the Dominion of India. The dancer was born in Madanapalle and died in New Delhi.
The work spans Bharatanatyam, Carnatic music and kuchipudi, among others. Honours include Fellow of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q7377129 · wikipedia · Yamini Krishnamurthy
In this article
Early life
Early life
Krishnamurthy was born on 20 December 1940 in Madanapalli, in the present-day Chittoor district, of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Her father, M. Krishnamurthy, was a Sanskrit scholar. She began her dance training at the age of five at the Kalakshetra School of Dance in Madras (present-day Chennai), under the guidance of Bharatanatyam danseuse Rukmini Devi Arundale. After mastering the basic skills, she went on to study under renowned dancers such as Kanchipuram Ellappa Pillai and Thanjavur Kittappa Pillai. Krishnamurthy would, in later interviews credit her growing up in Tamil Nadu and the local cultural environment, including the Thillai Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram as inspirations for her art.
Career
Career
Krishnamurthy started her dance career with a Bharatanatyam performance in Madras in 1957. Some of her Gurus during this period included Kanchipuram Ellappa Pillai, Kittappa Pillai, Dhandayuthapani Pillai, and Mylapore Gowri Ammal. Though she started with Bharatnatyam, Krishnamurthy expanded her skills to include Kuchipudi and Odissi dance forms. She is noted to have popularized these dance forms in North India in the 1960s when she relocated to Delhi. After one of her performances in the national capital, the visiting Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau is noted to have gone to the stage, held her hands and remarked, "Keep dancing. Don't stop. Just keep dancing". In addition to the country, her performances took her to other countries, including the US, the UK, the then USSR, Thailand, Iran and Pakistan. In recognition of her contributions, she was appointed as the Asthana Nartaki (transl. resident dancer) of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. She set up her dance training institute, Yamini School of Dance, in Hauz Khas in New Delhi. Krishnamurthy was a recipient of the Padma Shri (1968), Padma Bhushan (2001), and Padma Vibhushan (2016) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1977). She also received the Natya Shastra award from the Shambhavi School of Dance in 2014. Krishnamurthy published her autobiography, A Passion for Dance, in 1995.
Death
Death
Krishnamurthy died on 3 August 2024 in New Delhi, at the age of 83.
Yamini Krishnamurthy in 2014
Anjali Reddy J
Yamini Krishnamurthy got honoured with Natya Shastra Award by Shambhavi School of Dance in Bangalore as part of Nayika-Excellence Personified on the ocassion of International Woman's Day on 8th March 2014!!!
Anjali Reddy J
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
2024
Yamini Krishnamurthy died at New Delhi.
Places
Named by the record
Places
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Madanapalle.
Birth place
New Delhi.
Death place
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Kuchipudi ambassadors. The Hindu. 19 December 2008.
- 2.Pratibha presents Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowships, awards. The Hindu. Press Trust of India. 28 September 2010.
- 3.The Tribune — Windows — This Above All. tribuneindia.com.
- 4.PTI. Veteran Bharatanatyam dancer Yamini Krishnamurthy dies at 84. The Hindu. 3 August 2024. 0971-751X.
- 5.Bharatanatyam Veteran Yamini Krishnamurthy Dies At 84. NDTV.com.
- 6.Swaminathan, Chitra. Yamini Krishnamurthy: a vibrant dancer who strived hard to take Bharatanatyam to the global stage. The Hindu. 3 August 2024. 0971-751X.
- 7.Yamini Krishnamurty. All Time Great Classical Dancers.
- 8.Yamini Krishnamurti, Bharatanatyam benchmark, torchbearer of Kuchipudi and Odissi, dies at 83. The Indian Express. 3 August 2024.
- 9.Narayan, Renuka. I always wanted to communicate my joy in dancing: Yamini Krishnamurti. 8 February 2016.
- 10.cultural india. Yamini Krishnamurthy. culturalindia.net.
- 11.Padma Shri Awardees.
- 12.Padma Bhushan Awardees.
- 13.Lecture Demonstration at Nayika, Bangalore. The Hindu. 13 March 2014.
- 14.narthaki.com. Yamini Krishnamurthy in "Naykia-Excellence Personified".
- 15.buzzintown.com. Yamini Krishnamurthy Confer with Natyashastra Award.
- 16.Krishnamurti, Yamini. A Passion for Dance: My Autobiography. Viking. 1995. 978-0-670-86454-6.
- 17.Book review: A Passion for Dance: an Autobiography. India Today. 29 February 1996.
- 18.Deccan Herald. Bharatanatyam icon and Padma awards winner Yamini Krishnamurthy dies at 84. 3 August 2024.
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