Lakshmi Knight (1943-2001) represented a family tradition of Bharata Natyam which has been regarded as the repository of the art of the Tanjore Court for ten generations. She was the only daughter of Balasaraswati, widely regarded as the 20th century’s greatest exponent of Bharata Natyam, who made her U.S. debut at Jacob’s Pillow in 1962. Lakshmi toured with her mother in the 1960s and 1970s, and directed the Balasaraswati School of Indian Music and Dance from 1984 until her death. The family tradition carries on through the career of Lakshmi’s son, Anirruddha Knight, who participated both as a dancer and a musician in the performance excerpted here. This excerpt is from the concluding work of the evening, a rhythmic explosion of pure dance with this minimal text: “To the song and drum syllables, the beautiful dancer is dancing…”
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