Gopika Varma

Gopika Varma started her dance career when she was ten years old, learning under the renowned Smt. Kalyani Kuttyamma, and continued to learn from various other artists. She has performed all through her life in many places, festivals, temples and during special occasions. Her field of expertise allows her to be very graceful in her Mohiniyattam.

Mohiniyattam is a classical dance form greatly practiced in Kerala. This dance form is traditionally meant to be performed as a solo by a woman. The term “Mohiniyattam”, when translated, comes to form “Dance of the Enchantress”. Her field of expertise allows her to be very graceful in the dance form. She is married into the Royal family of Travancore, to Pooruruttathi Thirunal Marthanda Varma, descendent of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal and they have one son, Shi Vishnu.

With conquering love and passion in her heart for this art form, Gopika enchants her audience in a mesmerizing “Nritta – “Nrittya” elements of her dance which showcase her graceful and fluid movements expressing the purity and sanctity of her dance and the art in itself. In her guru Smt. Kalyani Kuttyamma’s words: “Like the ambrosia filled in a golden pot, Gopika, trained in Dashavatara, and the very element in which she underwent training, excel each other.” Currently, Gopika is running a Mohiniyattam Dance School called “Dasyam” in Chennai and Bangalore. Her vision is to develop Mohiniyattam outside of Kerala to those brimming with talent and passion for the art form and also to assist those who are worthy of scholarships and provide necessary facilities to all performing and non – performing artists by conducting yearly workshops and lecturing/ performing in Festivals.

She has been the recipient of various awards in her lifetime as a Mohiniyattam Dancer. Some of them are namely the Sangeetha Natak Academy Award, the Nrithya Choodamani Award, Natya Ratna, and the Yuva Kala Bharathi by Bharat Kalacher in 2001. She became the first ‘Mohiniyattam dancer’ to receive this award.