Mohiniyattam, a dance generally seen as feminine, will now be taught to boys also in Kerala university

In a historic move to promote gender neutrality in art forms, a university in India’s southern Kerala stateopened admissions for boys to learn Mohiniyattam- a classical dance form generally considered female-oriented.

The groundbreaking decision was taken at the Kalamandalam Deemed University situated in Thrissur city.

The committee members at the Kalamandalam administration met Wednesday and passed the decision unanimously to allow boys to study the ancient dance form.

Vice-Chancellor of the university, B Ananthakrishnan said boys will now be admitted in the dance form from the next academic year at all levels- high school, degree and postgraduation.

The move came after the Ramakrishnan vs Sathyabhama row that started a heated discussion in the state on male dancers performing Mohiniyattam.

Ramakrishnan-Sathyabhama row

Ramakrishnan is a former student of Kalamandalam and a dance teacher; he is one of the most graceful dancers of the Mohiniyattam art form. But him being a male dancer in this art form, doesn’t sit well with Sathyabhama, another renowned dancer.

In one of her interviews given to a YouTube channel, she opined it is annoying to see men performing Mohiniyattam.

On top of it, she also hurled racist slurs at Ramakrishnan, calling him a man with the “colour of a crow”.

"The person who performs Mohiniyattam should be 'mohini' (enchanting). He has the colour of a crow. This is an art form that requires a stance that keeps the legs wide apart. There is nothing more repulsive than a man who performs with his legs wide apart in this manner," said Sathyabhama in the interview.

As the video of the interview went viral on social media, Ramakrishnan alleged that Sathyabhama targeted him with racist remarks and also lodged a police complaint against her.

Historic move

Soon after the hullabaloo over the interview and silence from the university over the row, Kalamandalam hosted Ramakrishnan’s Mohiniyattam recital on Tuesday.

Responding to the latest decision by Kalamandalam, Ramakrishnan said, “It is the most welcome news. I am particularly happy that this decision was taken the very next day I was allowed to perform at Kalamandalam, for the first time.”

Ramakrishnan also said that the founder of Kalamandalam, the late Vallathol Narayan Menon, expressed wishin the past to rename Mohiniyattam as "Kairali Nritham", a more gender-neutral term for the dance form to prevent the taboo against males performing it.

As per Reginald Massey, a cultural historian, Mohiniyattam’s history is unclear.

The earliest evidence of the dance form is found in temple structures of Kerala which have female dancers in Mohiniyattam pose.

However, some historians believe that the dance form was also performed by men in the contemporary period.

(With inputs from agencies)