Kalamandalam Vimala Menon

🪔 About

Kalamandalam Vimala Menon, born on January 7, 1943, in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur district, Kerala, is a distinguished Indian classical dance teacher and a leading exponent of Mohiniyattam. She began her dance training at the age of 10, learning initial lessons from Thripunithura Vijaya Bhanu and Carnatic music from M. R. Madhusudanan Nair. Following the advice of poet Vallathol Narayana Menon, she joined Kerala Kalamandalam in 1960, where she completed a four-year diploma course. At Kalamandalam, she received extensive training in Mohiniyattam under the tutelage of Pazhayannoor Chinnammu Amma and Kalamandalam Satyabhama, and also studied Bharatanatyam under Thanjavoor Bhaskara Rao. Menon's career as a dance teacher began before her marriage in 1966, when she worked at the Jawahar School in Neyveli Lignite Corporation. After her marriage, she lived in Bhutan, where she continued to teach and perform South Indian Classical dance. In 1972, she founded the Kerala Natya Academy in Thiruvananthapuram, which has since become a prominent institution for training dancers in Mohiniyattam, Bharatanatyam, and Kuchipudi. She is credited with training over 10,000 students across five generations and has significantly contributed to the propagation and revitalization of classical dances, particularly Mohiniyattam. Vimala Menon is recognized for her innovative contributions to Mohiniyattam, including changes to its costume, presentation, and the incorporation of Kerala's traditional musical instruments like Edekka, Timila, and Maddalam. She also pioneered the introduction of Kuchipudi in Kerala. Her dedication to dance was globally acknowledged in 2006 when she achieved a Guinness World Record for training and presenting 1200 Mohiniyattam dancers on a single stage. She is also the author of seminal works such as 'Laasya Mohini' and 'Bharatanatyavum Sastravum Charithravum'. Awards & Honours: All Kerala Social Service Association Award for Bharata Natyam (1972), Viswabharathy Award (1980), Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award (1991), Senior Fellowship Award for research (2004), Kerala Kalamandalam Award for Dance (2004), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2006), Guinness Book of Records (2006), Kalaratna Fellowship (2012), Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship (2014), Nritha Natya Puraskar (2020), Kerala Sri Award (2025), Nrityaratna Samman (2025), Padma Shri (2026).