PTI

Chennai, Dec 31: Legendary dancer and choreographer Chandralekha, who revolutionalised Indian contemporary dance scene by giving it an aesthetic and erotic dimension, has passed away after a fight with cancer.

Chandralekha, 78, died at her residence late Saturday night, family sources said on Sunday.

She had been undergoing treatment at a corporate hospital from where she had been discharged only a couple of days ago.

A Bharatanatyam soloist of the 1950s, she caught the public imagination through her innovations and experiments in various dance forms.

Her electrifying performances discarded the devotional elements of dance for passionate body-oriented movements.

Often described as an iconoclastic maverick dancer who has the capability to unite Bharatanatyam, Yoga and Kalarippayat in a single mind-blowing step, she has won national and international acclaims for her services.

In the national level, she had received Sangeet Natak Academy Fellowship and Kalidas Samman, among others.

Chandralekha's international recognitions include the Gaia Award in 1992 from Italy and the Time Out Dance Umbrella Award in 1992 from London.

She began her career as a traditional dancer after having received training from renowned Guru Kanchipuram Elappa Pillai in early 1950s.

In 60s, she gave up performing and chose to become a writer and a woman's and human rights activist. She made a major comeback to dance world in 1985 as a choreographer.