Douglas Knight, Lyme resident and author of the biography Balasaraswati: Her Art & Life (Wesleyan University Press, 2010) will discuss the life and artistic significance of the legendary South Indian dancer T. Balasaraswati, at the Lyme Public Library on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m.  The presentation will include a short video documentary and draw upon his own 40-year-relationship with India, Indian music, and Bala’s extended family of artists.

Born in colonial Madras in 1918, Balasaraswati was acclaimed in India as the great hereditary dancer of her tradition while she was still a teenager.  Beginning in 1962, Bala was one of a group of Indian artists whose presence as performers and teachers in the U.S. helped shaped the direction of 20th century American music and dance.  An artist of exceptional power, Bala was affirmed as “one of the supreme performing artists in the world” (NY Times, 1977).

Here in Connecticut, her impact as a performer and teacher is vividly recalled by audience members and students who encountered her during pioneering residencies at the American Dance Festival at Connecticut College, and at Wesleyan University.  These were among the many residencies she presented throughout the U.S.

Author Douglas Knight has had a professional and personal involvement with Balasaraswati’s family and their art since 1968.  For 10 years a student of Bala’s brother, drummer T. Ranganathan, Knight was married to Balasaraswati’s daughter, Lakshmi (1943 – 2001), with whom he performed in India and North America throughout her distinguished career.  He has continued to accompany their son, dancer Aniruddha Knight, who lives in Chennai.

Douglas Knight has been a Fulbright Scholar and a Guggenheim Fellow, has taught in several American universities, and lectured widely in India and the U.S.

Copies of Balasaraswati: Her Art & Life will be available for purchase during the evening of the program.  Call 860-434-2272 to register for the program or email programreg@lymepl.org.