About Us
Pallavi Krishnan, a leading exponent of Mohiniyattam in the national and international performance circuit, is acclaimed for her versatility as a performer, choreographer, and trainer. Initially, Pallavi earned her training in Kathakali and Mohiniyattam under Guru Kalamandalam Sankaranarayanan at Santiniketan. Her passion for Mohiniyattam led her to Kerala Kalamandalam for advanced training, making her the first Bengali to learn Mohiniyattam from this pioneering institution. Subsequently, she earned an M.A. in Mohiniyattam from Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University.
Pallavi is a recipient of the prestigious Kerala Kalamandalam and Kerala State’s Sangeeta Nataka Akademi awards for her contributions to Mohiniyattam, making her the first and, so far, the sole Bengali woman to earn these coveted honours.
This fulfilled the long-awaited dreams of the late poet laureates Tagore and Vallathol, who always wanted a cultural exchange between these two prestigious art academies in the country. She is the only Indian dancer to be an alumna of Santiniketan (Viswa Bharati University) and Kerala Kalamandalam. Since 1992, she has been living in Kerala, the land of her art form, and has dedicated her life to Mohiniyattam. She has also been trained under Guru Bharati Shivaji and Guru Kalamandalam Sughandhi. She received a scholarship (1995–1997), a junior fellowship (1998–2000), and a senior fellowship (2009–2011) from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. She is an empanelled ICCR artist and a Top-Graded artist at Doordarshan. Pallavi has performed and conducted workshops and lecture demonstrations of Mohiniyattam nationally and internationally. The venues include festivals such as Khajuraho, Konark, Ananya (Delhi), Dover-Lane (Kolkata), Mahabalipuram, various Sabhas in Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Soorya, and Nishagandhi (Kerala), to name a few.
Her overseas assignments include performances in the United States, the U.K., Australia, Canada, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, China, Mauritius, and the Gulf regions. She was also the Cultural Ambassador designated by the ICCR and Indian High Commission, Dhaka, to disseminate Mohiniyattam in Bangladesh. Her recent prestigious assignments include performances for the World Hindi Conference in Fiji (Feb-2023) under the aegis of the ICCR and at the Lakshadweep Islands before the Hon.President of India during Her Excellency’s visit in March 2023.
