PALAKKAD:Former principal of the Kerala Kalamandalam and noted mohiniyattom danseuse Kalamandalam Sathyabhama, 77, died here on Sunday, at a private hospital in Ottappalam.
An alumni of the Kerala Kalamandalam, Sathyabhama began teaching at the institute in 1957 and retired as principal in 1993.
Born on November 4, 1937, to Krishnan Nair and Ammini Amma, Satyabhama joined the Kerala Kalamandalam in 1951, where she trained in bharatanatyam under Krishnankutty Warrier and Achutha Warrier and in mohiniyattom under Chinammu Amma.
Sathyabhama is credited for making mohiniyattom simpler by liberating it from the complexities of the kathakali “mudras”. Recipient of the Padmasri in 2014, Sathyabhama was the first recipient of the Nritha Natya award of the State Government. She was conferred the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy award in 1976 and the Sangeet Natak Academy award in 1994.