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.

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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.

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