DANCER

Rukmini Devi Arundale

1904 - 1986

Photo of Rukmini Devi Arundale

Icon of person Rukmini Devi Arundale

Rukmini Devi Arundale (née Sastri; 29 February 1904 – 24 February 1986) was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam, and an activist for animal welfare. She was the first woman in Indian history to be nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. The most important revivalist of Bharatanatyam from its original 'sadhir' style prevalent amongst the temple dancers, the Devadasis, she also worked for the re-establishment of traditional Indian arts and crafts. She espoused the cause of Bharatanatyam which was considered a vulgar art form in the early 1920s. Read more on Wikipedia

Her biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Rukmini Devi Arundale is the 87th most popular dancer (down from 80th in 2019), the 774th most popular biography from India (down from 630th in 2019) and the 2nd most popular Indian Dancer.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Rukmini Devi Arundale by language

Loading...

Among DANCERS

Among dancers, Rukmini Devi Arundale ranks 87 out of 116. Before her are Joaquín Cortés, Avdotia Istomina, Birju Maharaj, Katherine Dunham, Yvonne Rainer, and Doris Humphrey. After her are Hryhorii Chapkis, Dušanka Sifnios, Jin Xing, Yamini Krishnamurthy, Svetlana Zakharova, and Mrinalini Sarabhai.

Most Popular Dancers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1904, Rukmini Devi Arundale ranks 292. Before her are Elvio Banchero, Rafael Méndez, Boris Livanov, Henry Dreyfuss, Vladimir Makogonov, and Phil Harris. After her are Sadi Irmak, Gladys George, Irene Manton, Puck van Heel, Jimmy Dorsey, and Bernard Lonergan. Among people deceased in 1986, Rukmini Devi Arundale ranks 249. Before her are Lyudmila Pakhomova, Arvid Thörn, Enrique Tierno Galván, James Fifer, Blanche Sweet, and Robert Alda. After her are Snorri Hjartarson, John Braine, Brian Aherne, Dan Pagis, Albert Scherrer, and Romeo Rivers.

Others Born in 1904

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1986

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In India

Among people born in India, Rukmini Devi Arundale ranks 774 out of 1,861. Before her are Farida Jalal (1949), Shuja-ud-Daula (1732), Sharad Pawar (1940), Ekta Kapoor (1975), S. Shankar (1963), and Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775). After her are Nirmal Verma (1929), Isha Koppikar (1976), Ram Vilas Paswan (1946), Manilal Gandhi (1892), K. Sivan (1957), and Charles Sturt (1795).

Others born in India

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among DANCERS In India

Among dancers born in India, Rukmini Devi Arundale ranks 2. Before her are Birju Maharaj (1937). After her are Yamini Krishnamurthy (1940), Mrinalini Sarabhai (1918), Balasaraswati (1918), Sonal Mansingh (1944), Kapila Vatsyayan (1928), Padma Subrahmanyam (1943), Saroj Khan (1948), Geeta Kapur (1973), and Vaibhavi Merchant (1975).

Indian born Dancers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous