Kerala Kalamandalam

The premier institution for Kerala's classical performing arts, located at Cheruthuruthy on the Bharathapuzha River, about 30 km north of Thrissur. Founded in 1930 to preserve Kathakali — the elaborate costumed dance-drama of Kerala — the Kalamandalam has expanded to teach Mohiniyattam (the feminine lyrical dance form), Koodiyattam (the ancient Sanskrit theatre tradition, a UNESCO intangible heritage), Thullal, and classical music. Students train for years in the traditional guru-shishya (teacher-student) method.

Visitors can watch rehearsals and classes in the open-sided practice halls from the campus pathways. Short Kathakali demonstrations are staged most evenings at nearby cultural venues in Thrissur and Guruvayur; a full-length Kathakali performance, when it occurs, can run six hours through the night. The campus museum has costumes, instruments, and documentation of Kerala's performing arts traditions.

things to do museum sight
A story
Kerala Kalamandalam was established in 1930 by the poet Vallathol Narayana Menon, who is credited with saving Kathakali from near extinction. By the early 20th century, Kathakali — the elaborate mask-and-costume dance-drama of Kerala — was dying out for lack of patronage and students. Vallathol persuaded the princely state to fund a dedicated academy on the banks of the Bharathapuzha River, where the art form has been taught continuously ever since. Today Kalamandalam is a deemed university, the only one in the world dedicated to a performing art tradition.