Guru Gopinath, who developed the style called 'Kerala Natanam', was a famous dancer of:

Explanation

Guru Gopinath (1908-1987) was a famous Kathakali dancer from Kerala. He is best known for creating "Kerala Natanam", a new style of dance based on Kathakali, which made the techniques of Kathakali suitable for solo and group performances on the modern stage.

Guru Gopinath was born in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, into a family of Kathakali artists. He trained in Kathakali under famous gurus and also studied at the Kerala Kalamandalam soon after it was founded by the poet Vallathol Narayana Menon in 1930. Traditional Kathakali performances last for many hours, use heavy costumes and make-up, and require a large group of performers. Guru Gopinath, together with his wife and dance partner Thankamani, developed Kerala Natanam in the 1930s by adapting Kathakali's movements, gestures and expressions to shorter performances, with lighter costumes and make-up, suitable for audiences in cities and abroad. He created many dance-dramas on stories from the epics and on themes such as the life of Jesus and the Buddha. He toured widely in India and abroad and taught many students. He founded dance schools in Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram. After his death, the Government of Kerala established the Guru Gopinath Natana Gramam in Thiruvananthapuram in his memory, as a centre for dance.

Kathakali is the dance-drama of Kerala, known for its colour-coded make-up, its spectacular costumes, its mudras (hand gestures based on the Hastalakshana Deepika) and its drums, the chenda and maddalam. Other famous Kathakali artists include Kunchu Kurup, Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, Kalamandalam Gopi, Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair and Kottakkal Sivaraman.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Bharatanatyam is associated with dancers such as Rukmini Devi Arundale.
• ✗Kuchipudi is associated with dancers such as Vempati Chinna Satyam.
• ✗Odissi is associated with dancers such as Kelucharan Mohapatra.