Anandavalli is an internationally-renowned dancer, choreographer and teacher of BharathaNatyam and Kuchipudi, with a carer spanning over 48 years. She began her training at theage of seven and was discovered by the late Professor P.Sambamoorthy, one of thegreatest authorities on Indian music and dance, who later recorded that Anandavalli ‘wasborn with bells on her feet’. Her mother Lingambikai, daughter of the late Professor C.Suntharalingam, accepted the responsibility of cultivating the natural ability of this childprodigy. Anandavalli had her Arangetram at age nine under the tutelage of Vishwa KalaBharathi Neila Sathyalingam, and the legendary Mylapore Gowrie Ammal. Anandavalli’seducation blossomed under the training of Adyar K. Lakshmanan and Guru VempatiChinna Satyam - by the age of twelve she had toured Germany, Paris and London. For herdebut at the Victorian Albert Museum Lecture Theatre, the inimitable Ram Gopalpresented her as ‘the young dance phenomenon.’ Her talent was spotted by the wellknown international ballet choreographer, John Cranko, whose untimely demise preventedher grand solo presentation at the Stuttgart State, Little Theatre. Her repertoire was furtherenhanced under the guidance of the renowned gurus, Vazhuvor Ramaiya Pillai, VazhuvoorR. Samarraj and Udupi Laxminarayan. Anandavalli owes a great debt of gratitude to hergurus, who have nurtured her as a dancer and choreographer, unstintingly sharing theiraccumulated knowledge of these ancient art forms. Now a citizen of Australia, Anandavallicontinues to return to India to work with them and it is their generosity that has inspired herwork in Australia. Since moving to Australia in 1984 Anandavalli maintained herinternational profile performing in Karachi, Singapore, the Philippines, Honk Kong, Indiaand London. In 1989 she presented her first National Tour of Australia, which includedperformances in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra. At theSydney performance of this tour, Anandavalli was honoured and presented on stage withAustralian Citizenship in recognition of her contribution to the arts in Australia. In additionto her own solo career, in 1985, Anandavalli established the Lingalayam Dance Academyin Sydney. Today the Academy has a roll-call of over a hundred students, having presented22 Arangetrams to date. These debuts have highlighted the quality of dancing,commitment, and love for dance that Anandavalli has instilled in her students. In 1996, shefounded the Lingalayam Dance Company, establishing a firm professional base for theaccomplished graduates of the Academy. Anandavalli established Lingalayam as an all-female, professional, Indian dance company, with at least one performance season eachyear, in addition to smaller works, invitations and tours, throughout the year. Under herdirection, the Lingalayam Dance Company has emerged as arguably the most prolificIndian dance company in Australia.