The day of the legends
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The Legends of India Sangeet Festival featured some of Delhi's eminent dancers.
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PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUM.
CELEBRITY LINE-UP Geeta Chandan, Singhajit Singh and Charu sija, Madhavi Mudgal, Vanashree and Jayarama Rao, Shovana Narayan and Bharati Shivaji.
The Eighth Annual Sangeet Festival of Legends of India at Kamani auditorium this past week began with a presentation of `Jai Bharati', a performance blending six dance styles.It was with great expectations that the public gathered to watch some of the most popular classical dancers together on stage. With music by Madhup Mudgal beautifully blending various styles into a homogeneous whole, the presentation seems appropriately named.
Interesting highlights of the performance included the Manipuri segments, where Singhajit Singh and Charu Sija Mathur danced to Hindustani music unlike their usual accompaniment. In Bharatanatyam dancers and audiences are used to a range of musical backgrounds, therefore it was not surprising to see Geeta Chandran dancing to Hindustani lyrics depicting the love of Radha and Krishna. Kathak by Shovana Narayan performed to "Jagadodharana", a popular Carnatic kriti, with tabla replacing the mridangam added a different flavour. It was another example of successful fusion. With the resonant tanpura as a link, the musical score never gave the impression of being in segments. It could be marketed as a popular audio album.
Bane of the backdrop
The other dancers were Jayarama Rao and Vanashree (Kuchipudi), Bharati Shivaji (Mohiniattam) and Madhavi Mudgal (Odissi). The backdrop dominated by yellow with various chemical colours was an assault on the choreographic aesthetics. The sponsors' hoardings might have been better placed at the sides of the stage. In the event, the original stage design of `Jai Bharati' could not be executed, in the manner it had been when first performed in the Chinmaya auditorium. In Pratibha Prahalad's solo Bharatanatyam on the last day of the festival, her involved abhinaya was appreciated by the crowd. Her nritta while energetic, could do with some chiselling.
A.R.
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Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
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