Yamini Krisnamurti

🪔 About

Mungara Yamini Krishnamurthy (1940-2024) was a legendary Indian classical dancer celebrated for her profound contributions to Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, and also an exponent of Odissi. Born on December 20, 1940, in Madanapalli, Andhra Pradesh, she hailed from a family with a strong literary background; her father, M. Krishnamurthy, was a Sanskrit scholar. Yamini began her dance journey at the tender age of five, enrolling in the Kalakshetra School of Dance in Chennai under the tutelage of Rukmini Devi Arundale. She further honed her Bharatanatyam skills under esteemed masters such as Kanchipuram Ellappa Pillai, Thanjavur Kittappa Pillai, Dhandayudhapani Pillai, and Mylapore Gouri Amma. For Kuchipudi, she trained under illustrious gurus like Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Shastri, Chinta Krishnamurthi, and Pasumarthy Venugopal Krishna Sharma, playing a significant role in popularizing Kuchipudi as a solo dance form. She also learned Odissi from Pankaj Charan Das and Kelucharan Mohapatra. Krishnamurthy made her debut performance in Chennai in 1957, quickly rising to prominence by 1960 and gaining national and international acclaim for her dynamic stage presence. She moved to Delhi in 1958, where she later established the Yamini School of Dance in 1990, also known as Nritya Kaustubha, to impart training to younger generations. A prolific artist, she authored her autobiography, "A Passion for Dance," in 1995. Yamini Krishnamurthy passed away on August 3, 2024, in New Delhi, at the age of 83. Awards & Honours: Padma Shri (1968), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1977), Padma Bhushan (2001), Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellow (Akademi Ratna) (2010), Natya Shastra award (2014), Padma Vibhushan (2016), Asthana Nartaki.