One of the earliest memories that danseuse Alarmel Valli has about her stage debut in 1967, is the torrential deluge that had her audience “captive” at the Museum Theatre. “I remember my arangetram vividly,” she chuckles, “A cyclone had hit Chennai.

It rained all day, and an hour before my performance the hall was still empty. But then, there was a sudden lull in the downpour and the audience trickled in. Before long, I had a full house — captive because the deluge had started again!”
That first performance was a propitious start to the several more to come. “It was almost a pattern: Before a performance, whenever there was a seemingly insurmountable challenge like chicken pox, or a torn ligament, or being stranded somewhere, everything would eventually fall into place,” Valli smiles.
A Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan recipient, Valli inherited the glorious Pandanallur style from her gurus Chokkalingam Pillai, and his son, Sri Subbaraya Pillai, to become the foremost exponent of the style. She also learned Odissi under Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, but gave it up when she realised that a lifetime was not enough to master two art forms. Valli learnt from masters who never danced, only demonstrated. And on her part, she never took down notes, choosing to rely on memory. “During class, master was so focused that he would lose all track of time. I’d barely make it to school on time after dance class. But, so much has changed since then. When I began learning dance, we had no televisions, cassette recorders, let alone iPods. This lack of technology was a boon. Students had to rely entirely on memory. Now when students have the all-too-easy means to visually record dance, there is the danger of succumbing to a culture of imitation. Art gets tarnished in the era of instant gratification,” says Valli.
Change has affected even classically puritan Chennai, with “packaging” and “marketing” of art more commonplace. “PR is an integral part of dance today, as is packaging. My mother, who has been my anchor and critic, taught me that money was not important. Wealth was counted in terms of talent, intellect, and values. She always told me, ‘This above all: To thine own self be true’. As for my gurus, they always stressed the importance of Sarakku (content) over Minukku (glitter). However, dance has changed radically today. Bharatnatyam has become sensation-driven, with an emphasis on physicality. It seeks the ‘wow’ factor and this worries me. The poetry, subtlety, subtext and grace suffer; it is akin to dishing out fast-food all the time,” Valli laments.
However, time has also done some good, she concedes. “Dancers today are far more conscious of stage presence and stage craft,” she says, recounting, “There was a time when rats or bandicoots would scurry past, or a member of the audience would simply stroll across the stage. Lighting design was in its infancy. All these aspects have changed for the better. As for costumes and jewellery, my tastes lean towards simplicity.”
Valli adds, “I think one of the biggest challenges dancers face today is of staying true to ourselves and our aesthetic and artistic principles, while negotiating the many pressures and conflicts of a commercialised, superficial environment.”