Balasaraswati

Tanjore Balasaraswati, known as Balasaraswati, was an Indian dancer who lived from 13 May 1918 to 9 February 1984, and her rendering of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance style that originated in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, made the form well known across India and around the world. Belonging to the devadasi lineage, she preserved the traditional form of Bharatanatyam that embraced shringara, the erotic depiction of divine love, viewing it as beautiful and spiritual rather than immoral, unlike upper caste reformist dancers such as Rukmini Devi Arundale, who sought to remove the dance's erotic elements. She received the Padma Bhushan in 1957 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1977, respectively the third and second highest civilian honors given by the Government of India.