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The Kuchipudi Art Academy in Madras (now Chennai) was founded in 1963 by:
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Answer: Option D — Vempati Chinna Satyam
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Explanation
Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam founded the Kuchipudi Art Academy in Madras (now Chennai) in 1963. The academy became the most important centre for training in Kuchipudi, and it helped the dance gain recognition as a classical art across India and the world.
Vempati Chinna Satyam (1929-2012) was born in Kuchipudi village, in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, the birthplace of the dance. He learnt the dance from the traditional gurus of the village, especially Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastry. He moved to Madras, then the centre of the South Indian film industry, and worked for some time as a choreographer of dances for films. In 1963, he founded the Kuchipudi Art Academy, where he trained a large number of students. He refined and systematised the Kuchipudi technique, making it more graceful and polished, and he gave the dance a structure suitable for solo performances on the modern stage. He also composed many dance-dramas, such as "Sri Krishna Parijatam", "Chandalika" and "Padmavathi Srinivasam". His students included famous dancers such as Shobha Naidu, Manju Bhargavi and the actress Hema Malini. He received the Padma Bhushan (1998) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Kuchipudi is the classical dance of Andhra Pradesh. It developed from the dance-drama tradition of Kuchipudi village, which was performed by Brahmin men. Siddhendra Yogi, a 17th century saint, is traditionally regarded as its founder, and his "Bhama Kalapam" is one of its most famous works. Kuchipudi is known for its quick, graceful movements and its "Tarangam", in which the dancer dances on the rim of a brass plate, sometimes with a pot of water on the head.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma was a famous Kuchipudi dancer known for playing female roles, such as Satyabhama.
- ✗Raja Reddy, with Radha Reddy, is a famous Kuchipudi dancing couple based in Delhi.
- ✗Yamini Krishnamurthy was a famous Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer.
💡 Exam tip
Link Vempati Chinna Satyam with the Kuchipudi Art Academy (Chennai, 1963), and link Siddhendra Yogi with the origin of Kuchipudi.💬 Discussions on this question
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Art & Culture Personalities — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Art & Culture Personalities, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the people behind India's art and culture: classical and folk dancers, vocalists and instrumentalists, painters, sculptors, theatre and film personalities, and the gurus who founded or revived art forms. Questions also cover the art form each person is known for and the honours they have received. Exams typically name a person and ask for their art form, or name an art form and ask who popularised it. Recent Padma award winners from the arts appear often, so link each name to the field and state the award was given for. Since award lists change every year, always revise from the latest official list rather than relying on older notes. Practise the art and culture personalities questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.