| Academic/Professional activities |
• A Bharatanatyam performer and lecturer, Devayani was inspired by the art, music, poetry and literature of different cultures from her early childhood. Born in Paris and brought up in a French provincial aristocracy family she would often attend dance recitals, theatre shows, music concerts and art exhibitions.
• Her thesis for M.A. being ‘The Asthetics of Theatre and Cinema’.
• She created three dance dramas during her academic studies, one of them was ‘Le Chant de la Nut’ (The Night Song) portraying the Indian theme Radha and Krishna’s love.
• She was introduced to India and Bharatanatyam through the films of Louis Malle before studying Bharatanatyam under Amala Devi and Malavika in Paris.
• Devayani came to India under Indo-French Cultural Exchange Programme and received training under eminent Gurus i.e. Ellappa Mudaliar, V.S. Muthuswamy Pillai, Vempati Chinna Satyam and from (Dr) Balamurali Krishna in Vocal Carnatic Music.
• She gave a number of dance performances in all major cities in India and abroad which include ‘Narada Gana Sabha Festival’, Chennai, National Theatre Festivals, ‘Sangeet Natak Academy Festivals’, ‘Kalidasa Festival of Music and Dance’, ‘Mardol Temple Dance Festival’, Goa, ‘Haridas Mahotsav’, ‘Mahakumbh Mela’, Allahabad, ‘Haridas Sangeet Sammelan’, Mumbai, ‘Divisional Utsav’, Gwalior, ‘Federation of United Nations’, ‘Nuclear Week’ against disarmament at Paris, Nyori (Switzerland), Bomn, Berlin, Uslo, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, UK, Portugal, Italy, Greece.
• Devayani has performed a lead role in “America Ammayi” a Telugu film with a solo Kuchipudi dance. She has made Bharatanatyam as a medium of hers to express, according to her, “art is the colour of passion, free flowing saus frontiers” |
