Respected dance guru K J Sarasa (79), who devoted her life to 'Bharatanatyam', passed away in Chennai on Monday due to illness. She is survived by her daughter Rajalakshmi, who is married to popular director Venkat Prabhu.

Sarasa considered as a "Guru" by many yesteryear popular actresses, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. In a condolence message, Jayalalithaa said her death was a loss to those who were in the field of dance and her contribution to the art was immeasurable.

Besides winning awards such as 'Kalaimamani', 'Natyaselvam', 'Swarnakalasam', 'Natyaratna', she was also the recipient of the Sangita Nataka Academy’s best 'Bharatanatyam' dance teacher.

'In her career spanning over 50 years, she had the rare distinction of conducting over 500 'arangetrams' and over 1,500 performances around the world,' the Chief Minister said .She also added that Sarasa had trained many dancers, besides being the first woman 'nattuvanar'.