Kapila Venu

With only remnants of our heritage and traditions in contemporary society, our age-long legacy is predicted to be extinct. One of these traditions is “Koodiyattam” – an ancient theatrical dance form of India. To combat the downfall of tradition and ethos, Kapila Venu, a practitioner of Koodiyattam, has taken the much-needed step towards the preservation and rejuvenation of this dance form. Venu was born in 1983 to Gopalan Nair Venu and Nirmala Paniker. She did her schooling at The Lawrence School, Lovedale, where her mother was a dance teacher. Her family had an artistic background, with her father being a Koodiyattam professional and one of her early gurus. Her mother was a Mohiniyattam dancer and also the one to teach her the historical dance form.

Venu learned Koodiyattam under the maestro Ammannur Madhava Chakyar, who also happened to be the guru of her father G Venu. She has also worked with Min Tanaka, an acclaimed Japanese dancer, for several years. Her dance performances are technique oriented and exude a sense of retention and restraint. She delivers solo as well as group performances. Though a firm believer in the superiority of ancient techniques and traditions, she likes to rework the narrative around the typical stories depicted in Koodiyattam and assume a somewhat modern yet traditional stance.

Venu is very interested in the promotion and revival of various traditional art forms and also stands for justifiable pay for the practitioners of dances like Koodiyattam. She is currently the overseer of the Natanakairali Research and Performing Center for Traditional Arts and also a visiting professor at National School of Drama and Intercultural Theater Institute, Singapore. Some major accolades received by her include the Ustad Bismillah Khan The Shehnai legend Ustad Bismillah Khan was born w >> Read More... Yuva Puraskar and the Sanskriti Award.