Padmashree Yamini Purna Tilaka Krishnamurthy

Born in 1940, Padmashree Yamini Purna Tilaka Krishnamurthy alias Yamini Krishnamurthy is a famous bharatanatyam and kuchipudi dancer from Andhra Pradesh. Yamini started studying dance at the age of 5 from the Kalakshetra School of Dance, Chennai, under Rukmini Devi Arundale. Yamini completed her studies under renowned masters such as Kanchipuram Ellappa Pillai, Thanjavur Kittapa Pillai, Dhandayudhapani Pillai and Mylapore Gouri Amma. She was trained kuchipudi under Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Shastri, Chinta Krishnamurthi and Pasumarthy Venugopal Krishna Sharma. In addition to bharatanatyam and kuchipudi, she learnt Odissi, Carnatic vocal music, and veena. At the age of seventeen, she conducted her first public performance in Chennai. Yamini is the recipient of many awards including the Padmashree in 1968, Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1977, and Asthana Narthaki title from Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam. She started a dance school in 1990 called Yamini School of Dance in Delhi and wrote a book titled A Passion for Dance.