At the age of eighty two, the elegant mudras and perfect postures of Anandavalli Sankaran are spot on. Vettakkal Purathamkuzhi Anandavalli was an 18-year-old young woman when she began training in classical dance. She is still a teacher who performs gracefully in front of her students. She had trained under the eminent dance teachers in the area.
Anadavalli debuted as a professional dancer in the dance-dramas, which was a popular art form. She also did incredibly well as a talented theater actress.
It was Anandavalli who used to choreograph the dance sequences in the plays and trained other actors as well. Now, this octogenarian has hundreds of disciples who train under her in classical dance forms like Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam. She becomes extremely busy during the youth festival seasons when students come to her for special training.
A veteran in theater, Anadavalli has performed in hundreds of stages. She used to train students at the Kalavankodathu Jagadananada Nritha Kalalayam and her students performed at various stage events. Now, she trains students at her house itself. Asha Kumar, Asha Latha, Asha Jaya and Asha Lal are her children.
