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| Dance guru Vazhuvoor Samarraj passes away By KutcheriBuzz staff / Chennai |   | |||
 Chennai based dance guru Vazhuvoor R. Samarraj passed away on July 17, 2004 in Chennai. He was 66.
Son of the well known yester-year nattuvanar Vazhuvoor B. Ramiah Pillai, Samarraj hailed from a family of traditional dance experts of the Vazhuvoor village near Thanjavur in South India. On moving to Chennai, the family has been training students in the Vazhuvoor style of Bharatanatyam at the Vazhuvoorar Classical Art Centre in Mylapore, Chennai for the past 60 years. Samarraj was known for his clear rendition of jathis for dance recitals. Some of the dance dramas he choreographed are 'Thirumalai Kuravanji', 'Andal Charithram', 'Bhavayami', Kalaignar's Sanga Thamizh, 'Alli Thirumanam' and 'Oliyin Nizhal'. He was a recipient of the 'Kalaimamani', 'Natya Kala Samrat' and 'Bharata Kalaacharya' titles. He is survived by his wife Kamala, daughters Bala Venkatesan, Rajam Bhakthavatsalam, Kala Senthil, Sridevi Senthil and sons S. Palaniappan and S. Kumaran. At the the dance school in Chennai, Kumaran continues the dance tradition after his father, while Palaniappan conducts classes in Coimbatore and Sridevi trains students in Australia. You can contact Samarraj's family at No. 12, Brindavan Street, Mylapore, | ||||