Kalamandalam Balasubramanian

Kalamandalam Balasubramanian is a Kathakali dancer from Kerala in India. He received many awards including Kerala Kalamandalam Award in 2013, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award by Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, Government of Kerala, and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2022) by Sangeet Natak Akademi, Government of India.

Biography Balasubramanian was born on 26 May 1955 at Kothachira, in Palakkad district of Kerala. His mother Thankamani Marasyaar and father C. V. Rama Warrier were experts in Carnatic music, and his father was also a Kathakali musician. His father wanted to learn Kathakali, but his grandfather was against it. So he decided to teach one of his children Kathakali. In 1968, at the age of 13, after passing the seventh standard, he was admitted to the Kerala Kalamandalam to study Kathakali.

Balasubramanian currently lives in his apartment in Punkunnam, Thrissur.

Career After his studies at Kalamandalam, Balasubramanian started teaching Kathakali there from 1979 and retired as the principal in 2011. In 2024 he received the first Udatham Award instituted in the memory of Kathakali maestro Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody.