Mylapore Gowri Ammal also known Mylapore Gowri Amma (1892—1971) was a bharathanatyam dancer from Mylapore India. She was a temple dancer in Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore. In 1959, she received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for bharathanatyam.

Mylapore Gowri Ammal was born on 1892, in a Devadasi family of Mylapore, Tamil Nadu.^[2] Her mother Doraikannu Ammal was also a dancer. She learned dance from Nelluru Munuswamy Nattuvanar and also from her mother. Born into a family of temple dancers, she was the last person to serve at the Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore.^[3] She lived in a small house given to her by the Kapaleeswarar temple, until a law was passed banning temple dancing.^[3] Having lost her guardianship and home, she survived the rest of her life by teaching dance.

She died on January 22, 1971.^[4]

Gowri Ammal started her dancing career as a temple dancer in Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore. Ammal is often referred to as the last devadasi of the Kapaleeshwarar temple.^[5] She danced for the deity in the temple until the Indian government banned the Devadasi system in 1947, under the Madras Devadasis (Prevention of Dedication) Act.^[6]

As part of E. Krishna Iyer's efforts to support Bharatanatyam and have it recognised as an art form, and not dismiss it as part of a social reform movement, since it was based on the Devadasi system, in 1932, Gauri Ammal danced at the Madras Music Academy.^[3] Ammal gained fame in 1936 when Rukmini Devi Arundale, her first student approached her to become her Bharatanatyam guru.^[7] Rukmini had come to the Kapaleeswarar temple to ask her to come to the Kalakshetra, to teach her the subtleties of "abhinaya" (acting).^[7]

Gauri Ammal's abhinaya (acting), bhava (face expression) and musical talent in the Bharatanatyam performance were widely noted.^[8] She last performed on a public stage at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Indian National Congress in 1935.^[3]

Many notable dancers, including Balasaraswati,^[3] Rukmini Devi Arundale,^[3] Sudharani Raghupathy,^[9] Kalanidhi Narayanan,^[10] Sonal Mansingh,^[11] and Yamini Krishnamurthy^[12] were students of Gauri Ammal.

She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for bharathanatyam in 1959.^[2] She also received award from Madras Music Academy.^[3]