Pallavi Krishnan, a leading exponent of Mohiniyattam in the national and international performance circuit, is acclaimed for her versatility as a performer, choreographer, and trainer. Initially, Pallavi earned her training in Kathakali and Mohiniyattam under Guru Kalamandalam Sankaranarayanan at Santiniketan. Her passion for Mohiniyattam led her to Kerala Kalamandalam for advanced training, making her the first Bengali to learn Mohiniyattam from this pioneering institution. Subsequently, she earned an M.A. in Mohiniyattam from Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University.

This fulfilled the long-awaited dreams of the late poet laureates Tagore and Vallathol, who always wanted a cultural exchange between these two prestigious art academies in the country. She is the only Indian dancer to be an alumna of Santiniketan (Viswa Bharati University) and Kerala Kalamandalam. Since 1992, she has been living in Kerala, the land of her art form, and has dedicated her life to Mohiniyattam. She has also been trained under Guru Bharati Shivaji and Guru Kalamandalam Sughandhi. She received a scholarship (1995–1997), a junior fellowship (1998–2000), and a senior fellowship (2009–2011) from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. She is an empanelled ICCR artist and a Top-Graded artist at Doordarshan.

Pallavi was honoured with the prestigious Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Mohiniyattam (2023). She is also a recipient of the Kerala Kalamandalam Award (2020) and Kerala State’s Sangeeta Nataka Akademi Award (2008) for her contributions to Mohiniyattam, making her the first and, so far, the sole Bengali woman to earn these coveted honours..