Mohiniyattam, the sole female classical dance of Kerala was nearly extinct towards the dawn of the twentieth century. For poet Vallathol it was a hard task to find Mohiniyattam teachers for imparting training at Kalamandalam. Responding to his invitation Thottassery Chinnammu Amma came to Kalamandalam in 1950. She had by then forgotten most of the items of Mohiniyattam she learned during her formative period, since, for a long time, performance of this lasya tradition was forbidden due to social sanctions. Chinnammu Amma was graceful in appearance and movements even in old age. She taught at Kalamandalam a group of promising dancers. Kalamandalam Satyabhama, Chandrika, and Kshemavathy the leading dancers of the successive decades, are the contributions of Chinnammu Amma to Mohiniyattam
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