The Sayee and Subbulakshmi sisters were the best South Indian "
twin dance" duo of Indian cinema in the 1950s and 1960s, and I don't think anyone has matched them since! Their speed, precision, flexibility, springing leg movements, and most of all their ability to dance synchronized with each other was unparalleled. Unfortunately, they seem hardly remembered today outside of some film/classical dance enthusiasts—and a surprise inclusion in
a recent conference on dance and music in early South Indian cinema! A mention of the sisters in
a 2011 Indian newspaper article about classical dance in Indian cinema wrongly claimed that they danced only in the Hindi films
Azad and
Chori Chori "before disappearing." But bloggers and dance enthusiasts such as
myself,
Richard,
Tom, and
Lakshmi Subramanian, who have delighted in, discussed, and preserved the sisters' film dance sequences for years now, know better! Sayee-Subbulakshmi specialized in Bharatanatyam and had the heaviest presence in Tamil cinema (at least 13 films), but they also performed Kathak and folk styles and danced in other regional-language and Hindi films. And they were simply spectacular!
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| Sayee |
Back in 2010, Richard's
post about Sayee-Subbulakshmi at his lovely Dances on the Footpath blog was graced by
comments from Sayee's nephew and son informing readers with details about films the duo had danced in, family relations, that they learned Bharatanatyam from "Shri Muthuswami Pillai," and the sad news that Sayee had passed away in 2010. At the time I had no idea who "Muthuswami Pillai" was and promptly forgot the detail!
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| Subbulakshmi |
But when I found a lengthy feature about V.S. Muthuswami Pillai in
Sruti magazine, I was astounded to make the connection back to the comments from Sayee's relatives and even more astounded to learn how involved Muthuswami was. While Muthuswami began choreographing for films around 1938, it wasn't until a few years later that a fateful meeting with P.A. Periyanayaki introduced him to the young girls that would eventually become his star students who would perform "far and wide" and be "among the busiest artists of their time"--Sayee and Subbulakshmi (aka Sayee-Subbulakshmi, Sai-Subbalaxmi, etc.)! While I introduced Muthuswami Pillai and his other film choreographies in
Part One and the
Piya Milan addendum, here in Part Two I want to celebrate the talents of Sayee-Subbulakshmi by showcasing all of their known film dances, recognize Muthuswami Pillai's training and chiseling of their talent, and analyze his dance style.
Sayee and Subbulakshmi's
Training with Muthuswami Pillai
These priceless photos and excerpts are quoted from musician-dance scholar Sujatha
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