Neither Fish nor Tiger
Jochen Schmidt

“…….Alarmel Valli like Chandralekha belongs to Madras, dances bharatanatyam, her original, high class, majestic style, direct from the Chola Kings – the Pandanallur style. Her brilliant technique makes the ancient art a stirring offering. In the Nritha and the half hour long varnam and the Thillana the dancer explodes. Her charm and her sublime eroticism, raise the abhinaya passages to the highest art. Her spirituality raises the dance to a level which comes very near to its divine origin. The traditional dance of Alarmel Valli is so full of art and rich in nuances that Chandralekha’s impoverished modernity seems poor and antiquated by contrast.”

Indian Dancer, Alarmel Valli has fascinated Bucharest
Ziua, Mircea Stefanescu

“Alarmel Valli’s recital offered to Bucharest by Embassy of India, for the celebration of the 50th years of India’s independence, has stepped into legend for those present in the hall at the National Opera…..”

The Summit of Grace
Francoys Roberge
Le Devoir

“The paside deux from the “Swanlake” and the poignant sacrifice of Farmina Burana are instances of “bravour – moments of heightened emotion which in the hands of the most talented of western artists are unforgettable but Alarmel Valli’s perfect dance stands for much more – It is a complete eloquent composition, calling to mind poetry, theatre, mime, music harmonized with the greatest care and the most absolute perfection of movements. ……What strikes the view, above all, is the phenomenal refinement and grace of Alarmel Valli’s movements. The dance presents the entire religious tradition of India, with all the rich and ornate statues of its great temples. But into all this tradition Alarmel Valli breathes the warmth and fervour of life…..

The recital of Valli was perfect from the point of view that the audience left the hall with mixed feelings – the intense pleasure of experiencing the heights of beauty and the deepest of emotions and also the utter dismay at seeing the book close, where Alarmel Valli had unraveled a wonderfully fascinating story. It was an enslaved and “abandoned” public then – The large crowds that left the hall –abandoned, until they experience another such evening of dance comparable to Alarmel Valli’s.”

Indian View of Humanity and Divinity
Jack Anderson
The New York Times THE ARTS

“The way India’s art can unite the sacred and the secular was memorably demonstrated in the solos that Alarmel Valli danced last Sunday night at St. Mark’s Church.

Miss Valli scattered flowers and bounded lightly in “Pushpanjali” and “Alarippu” her opening dances of invocation. Her arms rippled like gently flowing rivers. When she sustained poses, they had a sculptural dignity. No matter what she did, she was lovely to behold. Yet even as she enchanted the senses, this Indian dancer made one aware of divine as well as human beauty…..”

Bharatanatyam
Daniel Conrad
Brochure – Theatre De La Ville

“She has to be seen to be believed. Alareml Valli is a wonderful Bharatanatyam dancer. We can even affirm, quite simply, that she is one of the greatest dancers in the world.

With her, music becomes dance, and dance flows like music. During the purely danced movements, her slim body builds an architectonic structure, into which she merges like an exquisite sculpture. Then suddenly, she becomes a painter, illustrating with a myriad hues, the lines of a poem.

The choices made by Valli are as interesting as her refusals. In the mad jungle of sometimes ridiculous inventions, she never tries to go against the strength of traditional repertory. She delves further, searching the ancient texts for poetry in harmony with her choreography…..”

Immaculate Performance
The Times, London

“Alarmel Valli danced the Bharata Natyam on August 4 as part of the Sama Arts Festival 1995, and it is difficult to conceive that there can ever have been a more immaculate performance in London of this Tamil dance…..”

Maiden and Mature Woman
Eva-Elisabeth Fischer
Dance goddess Alarmel Valli descends on earth at Festival
Suddeutsche Zeitung,
Munich

“Alarmel Valli’s eyebrows are the meeting point of all that suggests the ultimate bliss, as they quiver and tremble, gently moving upwards and downwards, now in an almost imperceptible and controlled manner and then drawing delicate, curly lines above eyes that roll and sparkle…. All the while even the toes play their part and the mouth keeps smiling. And who has ever seen an arm turn and form angles with such a consummate grace! Valli’s dance combines virtuosity and depth with captivating dynamics. But never will you find the aesthetics of the artificial loose itself into the lower areas of realistic and naïve representation. With Alarmel Valli the great feelings of love, rage and happiness remain sublime artifacts, while she changes from the mature woman to the young girl. For, goddesses inhabiting the earth know no age.”

The dance enchantress… A Legend from India expressed in Lyric form
Medhat Assem – Al Akhbar

“….I have seen before the choicest of world classical dance. I watched the American ballerina, Isadora Duncan (1878-1927) the Russian Anna Pavlova (1882-1931) and the American, Martha Graham, the founder of the school of American classical dance and others, but I profess that the Bharat Natyam” performance given by India’s dancer Alarmel Valli in Cairo was something totally different in its profound depths and exquisite execution. This dance form narrates the human life-story with all its composite feelings and emotions. I saw in Miss Valli, India’s true spirit, its history and immortal legends, its religions and philosophies. I saw a remarkable capability I have never seen before….”