Kanak Rele

Kanak Rele (11 June 1937 – 22 February 2023) was an Indian dancer, choreographer, and academic best known as an exponent of Mohiniyattam. She was the founder-director of the Nalanda Dance Research Centre and the founder-principal of the Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya in Mumbai.

Early life and education Born in Gujarat on 11 June 1937,

Rele was a qualified lawyer with an LL.B. from the Government Law College, Mumbai and a diploma in international law from the University of Manchester.

Rele and her husband Yatindra had one son. She died in Mumbai on 22 February 2023.

Mohiniyattam artiste Rele was also a Kathakali artiste having been trained under Guru "Panchali" Karunakara Panicker since the age of seven. Her initiation into Mohiniyattam came much later under Kalamandalam Rajalakshmi. A grant from the Sangeet Natak Akademi and later the Ford Foundation helped her delve deeper into her interest in Mohiniyattam and during 1970–71 she traveled to Kerala filming exponents of the dance form such as Kunjukutty Amma, Chinnammu Amma, and Kalyanikutty Amma. The project helped acquaint her with the nuances of Mohiniyattam and record its traditional and technical styles while also enabling her to evolve a teaching methodology for it.

Notable choreographies Rele is noted for the contemporisation of mythological tales in her performances and her portrayal of strong women characters in them, which is a marked departure from the traditional Mohiniyattam theme of the nayika pining for love. Some of her notable subjects and choreographies include Kubja, Kalyani, Silappadikaram, and Swapnavasavadattam.

Nritya Bharati, a documentary on India's classical dances produced by Rele's Nalanda Dance Research Centre has been acquired by the Ministry of External Affairs as the official capsule for all Indian missions abroad.

Academic career Rele was instrumental in beginning the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Mumbai and also served as its dean. Rele established the Nalanda Dance Research Centre in 1966 and the Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalay in 1972. She was honoured with the title Kala Vipanchee by Vipanchee, a pioneering institution for Indian music and dance, in 2005. In 2006, the Government of Madhya Pradesh conferred the Kalidas Samman on her for her contributions to and excellence in the field of classical dance. In 2013, she was conferred the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

Books Mohinī Āțțam: The Lyrical Dance Bhaava Niroopanna A Handbook of Indian Dance Terminology