News - Views - Reviews

   
    

CHENNAI DANCE ROUND-UP

  
Natyarangam recently organised a six-day dance fest featuring the Navarasa-s - the nine sentiments. The programme was titled Rasa Bharatam and was staged at the Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai. The word Navarasa-s are Sringaram (love), Hasyam (laughter), Veeram (heroism), Karuna (pity), Raudram (anger), Bhayanakam (fear), Bheebhatsam (disgust), Adbhutam (astonishment) and Shantam (tranquillity). Bharata in his Natya Sastra has referred to only the first eight, omitting Shantam. Following his footsteps, Natyarangam organised a 4-day event featuring only the eight sentiments. While Vyjayanthimala Bali and Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam performed all the rasas on the inaugural and the concluding days respectively, other dancers were given one rasa to portray. Padma Subrahmanyam's demonstration of the rasa-s, pinned with apt mythological stories, had a touch of class.

Priyadarsini Govind took up Sringaram while A Lakshman handled Raudram. Sangeeta Ishwar's presentation of 'Malarum' on AIDS using recorded music amidst other live shows did not gel. Moreover some screening should be done on what is required on stage for better crispness. Indira Kadambi dealt with Hasyam. Funny orchestra introduction and description of Lord Ganesha with cheap PVC tube and plastic basket made a mockery of the elephant-headed God and the dance form itself.

Gayatri Balagurunathan demonstrated Bhayam. Purandaradasa's composition Gummana Karayadire in Tilang was presented well. P T Narendran's programme was lively. Bheebhatsam by J Suryanarayanamurthy saw equally good orchestration. Kalakshetra dance tutor Sheejit Krishna's Mridangam accompaniment with pharans and timely effects for even the minutest expression created a terrific impact on the audience. Lakshmi Ramaswamy's elaborated on the Adbhutam.

To sum up, most of the dance presentations were fine in general but failed to aptly covey the given sentiment. Moreover the modern poetry by contemporary poets did not have the depth to covey the given rasa. Such presentations demand good homework. More relevant anecdotes from mythology could have helped the artistes demonstrate the given rasa-s in a better way. The stage decoration by P Krishnamurthy did not convey any meaning. Natyarangam needs a screening and censor board to ensure better quality.

Mature and confident

Sarayu Sai displayed her skill in Bharatanatyam at the Music Academy Mini Hall recently. A disciple of Guru Chitra Visweswaran, she opened with the traditional Pushpanjali. The introductory item was followed by the Annamacharya's krithi Sriman Narayana in raga Bowli. The Angayarkanni Varnam, composed by Violin maestro Lalgudi G Jayaraman remained the anchor piece of the recital. This number brought forth Sarayu's maturity in handling pure dance and facial expressions. She was considerably at ease while handling both abhinaya and nritta, and displayed absolute confidence in presenting the arudi-s in the Varnam. The Nattuvangam needs special mention - it found its best place in the hands of Subashri (Nattuvangam), who was supported flamboyantly by the young Mridangist Karthik. The Navarasa-s were well handled by the danseuse in the Varnam. Her expressions proved her experience and dedication. The songs in the second half of the show included rare pieces such as Unnai toodu anuppinen wherein the nayika (the heroine) laments sending her sakhi as a messenger to her lover as the sakhi turns out to be a traitor. The item was not just word-to-word translation into abhinaya - crisp sanchari-s found a predominant place that evening. Vanati's lilting voice had cast spell on the rasikas. The Tillana in Mohanakalyani, a composition of Lalgudi G Jayaraman (who was present for the show) was a fitting finale to the recital. Kalaiarasan (Violin) extended melodious support.

Poornachandrika

Students of Antara Centre for Performing Arts recently presented a dance feature Poornachandrika at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai. The simple story of a child that is lost on a full moon day followed by its reunion with its mother was presented in a very neat manner.

The scene opens with the pompous entry of the sutradhari (narrator) into the village where the mother of the child is found in distress. He carefully studies the situation and promises to find the child out. The child reaches the dense forest with crawling animals. The description of the forest was enjoyable. The passage of time and the sincerity of the moon in protecting the child was brilliantly represented by a dance sequence with creative movements. The music bit in Kuntalavarali was a real feast.

A Kuravan (gypsy) couple that finds the child tries to entertain her. The meeting, clash and reconciliation between the kuravan and sutradhari were well portrayed with suitable music and dance sequence. It was beautifully set in raga Kharaharapriya and alternated between Tisra and Chaturasra gati-s, and folk and classical styles. The choreography of this sequence proved the genius of Guru Sreelata Vinod. The ballet had very little lyrics to support. The whole feature stood on the musical interludes to suit the situation. Kudos to the keyboard artiste P R Venkatasubramanian for his lively composition of these music bits. The 75-minute play was non-stop, but one hardly missed the lyrics.

Meenakshi's performance as sutradhari stole the hearts of the audience. Other students also did a good job by bringing out the imaginative choreography of their guru live on stage. The credit of staging and conducting a 30 plus team of young dancers goes entirely to Sreelatha Vinod, well supported on the vocal by Pratima and Shashidharan. Katikeyan on the Mridangam, S S R Krishnan on Tabla and Morsing, M S Kannan on the Violin and P R Venkatasubramanian on the Keyboard were the others who share the credit.

Live Treat with 42 Dancers

Men may come and men may go but the story of Rama will continue to be a box-office hit. Yet another version of the story of Rama was presented at Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Hall, Chromepet by the students of Anita Guha. The programme commenced with a lively Ganesha Vandanam quickly followed by the main feast of the evening Sita Kalyanam. The ballet opened with the scene where different groups of dancers were found to be entertaining Dasaratha with their vigorous dance presentations. The entry of Viswamitra to take Rama and Laxmana for the Yaga Samrakshanam, Tataka Vadham, Ahalya Shapa Vimochanam, journey to Mithilapuri, and the Sita Swayamvara and finally the wedding of Sita were scenes taken for elaboration. All the dancers did a good job. Perfect synchronisation bundled with some fancy movements gave ample proof of Anita's choreographic skill. The ballet had scenes describing the forest, which included dance sequences of the animals too. One could very well judge that the ballet was intentionally choreographed to stage young dancers in large number. The colourful show involving 42 young dancers was a real treat to the audience. The performances of Archana as Tataka and Ravana, Madhu as Laxman, Shanti as Rama and Prathibha as Vishwamithra need special mention. Lyrics in Telugu by Vyjayanthimala were set to tune by Prema Ramamoothy and Anita herself. The small orchestral team comprising J Padmanabhan (Mridangam), Muruganandam (Violin) and Ramesh (Flute) did the job of a huge orchestra. Kudos to Anita without whose soulful singing and appealing effects, particularly for the villainous characters, the programme would not have been so lively.

A Touch of Class

M Anupama, the proud product of the Kala Darsana Foundation of Arts, Chennai recently performed at VDS Arts Academy, Chennai. Blessed with a fine expressive face added to which she has the blessings of her guru Jayanti Subramaniam, who holds the credit of moulding many young talents, Anupama's performance had a touch of class. Natesa Kautuvam in Hamsadhwani, Misra Alarippu and a Jatiswaram in Saraswati kicked the show towards a complex yet thrilling performance. Most of the traditional varnams revolve round Sringara bhava or the theme of love. But Anupama invariably chose to highlight Mahalakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, in the varnam format. This item revolved round bhakti bhava or devotion. Set to raga Varamu, it was yet another unique item which could be termed as a mini thematic presentation elaborating on episodes such as churning of the ocean followed by the birth of Mahalakshmi and so on. This item had excellent lyrical content, which could be readily elaborated, in the form of informative sancharis. It not only made Anupama cover every corner of the stage but also made the percussionist Venkatasubramanian's fingers roll on both the sides of the Mridangam, reaching every bit of the playing platform! Anupama's performance of this piece was neat. Guru Jayanti Subramaniam wielded the Nattuvangam with absolute confidence. Her rendition with apt modulations in reciting the jati-s was an aural treat. She was assisted by her disciple Janaki (Nattuvangam). The credit of writing lyrics and tuning the Varnam, the nucleus of the day, goes to the renowned musician T R Subramanian. The post-varnam session was again a continuation of the dance treat for the audience. Solla Vallaayo Kiliye in Ragamalika, the ninda stuti Yedukkittanai modi on Lord Siva and the Purandaradasa devarnama Chikkavane ivano in ragamalika brought afore her mastery over abhinaya. In addition to it Radha Bhadri brought all the bhava in her singing. Her voice modulations to suit the dancer's expressions were simply unmatched. Anupama ended the day with an enticing Tillana in raga Tilang, a composition of the violin maestro Lalgudi G Jayaraman. Ramana who played the flute also did a good job.

Guru Charana Smaranam

Natya Manjari recently celebrated Guru Charana Smaranam at the Rama Rao Kala Mantap, Chennai. The programme offered sincere tribute to Bharata Sastra Ratna Kanchipuram Sri Ellapa Mudaliar. Guru Udupi Sri Laxminarayan was the brain behind the fine dance feature titled Panchabhootam (the five elements viz. earth, water, air, fire and space). The show was a magnum opus, cleverly using the five jaati-s of tala namely Chaturasra (4), Tisra (3), Misra (7), Khanda (5) and Sankirana (9) to depict the five elements. The whole feature stood on the musical interludes and jati-s (rhythmic passages) in the relevant time cycles to denote every element. This was preceded by a couple of items that brought out the importance of Guru in one's life.

The students of Natya Manjari did a great job. The credit of staging and conducting the team of young dancers goes to guru Udupi Laxminarayan, well supported on the Nattuvangam by Madhumathi Prakash, and vocal by Shanti Jayaraman. Hari Babu on the Mridangam, Muruganandam on the Violin and P R Venkatasubramanian on the Keyboard were the other orchestra members.

Another highlight of the day was the release of the book Natyattil Pudiya Paadaigal written by guru Udupi Laxminarayan himself. Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam released the book and Nandini Ramani received the first copy. Dr. Padma in her speech termed it as a worthy handbook for both learners as well as their parents.

Lakshmi V N

    

Posted on October 4, 2002

   

More Dance News

  

themehome.jpg (1315 bytes)