Swarnamalya Ganesh is an Indian dancer, Professor, Actress, and TV anchor. She received the award "Yuvakala Bharat" at the age of 17. Her first major role in television was on the Sun TV show Ilamai Pudhumai and then went on to do a number of films in the Tamil language.

Dance career

Ganesh started performing onstage from age 12, when she did her arangetram in the presence of Avvai Natarajan and Padma Subrahmanyam. Apart from dancing in sabhas of India such as the Narada Gana Sabha, Krishna Gana Sabha and the Vishaka Music Academy, she has performed in other festivals such as the India International centre, New Delhi, Modhera Sun Temple festival, the Henry Martin peace festival, Kochi Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival and Faiz Festival, Lahore. She learnt from Guru Kalaimamani K. J. Sarasa and later trained under the Thiruvalaputhur Kalyani Grand Daughters, Gopalakrishna Nattuvanar and Viralimalai Muthukannamal.

From The Attic

Ganesh's doctoral work was The research and reconstruction of lost repertoires of the Nayaka Period in Early Modern South India. She has created a performance-exhibition-lecture series titled From The Attic aimed at journeying through the past performing practices, invoking multicultural memories of Sadir (Bharatanatyam). This series opens with Stories from the Attic, a lecture on the dance histories and contexts of Early Modern Era. Beholding the Attic is a special travelling exhibition curated to showcase rare sculptures, murals, scripts, costumes and photographs of courtesans of the 16th–20th centuries. The performance of From The Attic features repertoires like Mukhacali, Jakkini (Persianite influenced dance), Perani (A five act theatrical repertoire), Gondali (Marathi influenced), oriental padams (Works of Ruth. St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Ester Sherman and others). Nayaka repertoires reconstructed by her:

Publications (selected)

Film career

She made her film debut through Maniratnam's Alaipayuthey, where she played the role of Shalini's elder sister Poorni. She did only a few high-profile films such as Manobala's Naan Paata Ninepaethellam opposite Ramesh Aravind, a remake of the Hindi film Abhimaan (1973). Later she played second lead female roles in Mozhi (2007) and Engal Anna (2004).

Filmography

Television career

She began as a television anchor in Sun TV's show Illamai Pudumai. She also was the anchor of Vijay TV's Kalakka Povadhu Yaaru Part 2. She has also done Anbulla Sneghithi. After this, she also acted in Bharathiraja's Thekkathu Ponnu, Jaya TV's Vandhaale Maharasi, Revathi's Yaathumaagi Nindraal and also played a guest role in Sun TV's Thangam. Sun TV, Vijay TV, Raj TV, Kalaignar TV, K TV, Sakti TV (Colombo), Vasantam Central (Malaysia)

Television appearances