Kuchipudi deciphered
|
Through a demonstration, Jonnalagada Anuradha retraced the origins of Kuchipudi dance form and explained its intricacies.
|
A painting of Siddhendra Yogi, who created Kuchipudi dance form.
Sahiti, a programme conceived by the Saptaparanihas eminent artistes and people who have excelled in their field sharing their experiences and giving a lecture demonstration on their subject.
On June 17, one such lecture demonstration was organised and well-known Kuchipudi exponent Jonnalagada Anuradha spoke about the village of dance and music named Kuchipudi, its history and how the dance form became popular.
Anuradha is also the Associate Professor, Department of Dance at the University of Hyderabad. She brought into light the radical transformation dance forms are undergoing these days. Gone were the days when the Bhama Kalapam, a very intricate part of Kuchipudi dance, was performed for three days in a row. To cater to the present trend, the same is being conceived into a shorter version without losing the aesthetic value. She also spoke about how the dance form was originally practiced by men and known as Natuvamela, a group based, dance drama tradition. The language used for this form was simple. One could relate this form to that of the Yaksha Gana style wherein one has to express his histrionics and also the dance form. Another important aspect of this dance form is the significance of the lyrics, known as Kalpulu.
She mentioned the efforts of Kuchipudi exponents like Vempati Venkatnarayana, Vedantam Ramakrishna, who introduced new techniques and a variety of mythological themes. The 1930s saw the emergence of solo performances and entry of women. The credit of solo performances went to Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Sastry, who choreographed several solo items and laid a strong foundation for the current solo repertoire in Kuchipudi. Natraja Ramakrishna and Vempati Chinna Satyam, two stalwarts of Kuchipudipopularised this form by bringing finesse to the technique and presentation to both solo and dance dramas. Subsequent to her brief talk on Kuchipudi, she gave a music based demonstration on the songs used for the dance form, like the popular Bhamane satyabhamane.
The songs were rendered by Sri Sastry who did justice to the expressions and lyrical value. His voice aptly suited the dance performances. He was supported on the violin by Sri Sai and on the mridangam by Rajagopala Chary.
C. SURESH KUMAR
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
