Vignettes from the veterans
RUPA SRIKANTH
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The two-day International Dance Alliance festival threw the spotlight on the varied styles of stalwarts.
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PHOTOS: K. V. SRINIVASAN.
IMPOSING ARRAY: (Clockwise from top left) B. Bhanumathi's troupe, the Dhananjayans, Padma Subrahmanyam, Lakshmi Viswanathan, Rajeswari Sainath and Anita Ratnam, (bottom row, right to left) Neena Prasad, Deepika Reddy, Priya Murle and the Narasimhacharis.
Can artistes display their potential in 18 minutes? Leela Sekhar, Chairperson of the Madras Council, declares that the credo of the International Dance Alliance is not to showcase talent but to draw fresh audiences and to give them a sampling. A thematic festival is held every year bringing in dancers from all over the country, most often as groups. Leela has also been instrumental in getting dancers together to collaborate and share performance space.
This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Madras Council, and the special celebration presented the same galaxy of senior artists who had assisted and participated in the inaugural event all those years ago. Aptly titled `Natya Nakshatra Maalika,' the two-day festival was rightly chosen to honour S.Sarada (better known as Periya Sarada Teacher in Kalakshetra) and dancers V.P.Dhananjayan and Shantha Dhananjayan.
Largely solo-based
And the veterans went into action. While some presentations involved group choreographies, the festival was largely solo-based with a predominant dramatic quotient.
A group presentation that relied on the beauty of geometry and movement choreography was B. Bhanumathi's troupe from Bangalore. The well-trained dancers opened the show with a rigorous Poorvaranga Vidhi, an ancient Mysore Palace tradition that seemed a combination of an alarippu, Vinayaka kauthuvam and homage to the king.
The only other group choreography was by Deepika Reddy and her troupe. `Jayostu Kuchipudi' is the story of how the village of Kuchipudi was gifted by the ruler of Golconda to artists. The drift changed along the way, and Kuchipudi, the dance form, took centrestage. It was a proficient display by Deepika and the dancers.
Some artistes have the power to overwhelm the viewer and Padma Subrahmanyam did just that in the final moments of her Meera bhajan, pada varnam, ``Pyare darshan deejo aaye.' When Krishna appears before Meera in her mind's eye, the devotee is delirious with joy. Padma's eloquence even with her eyes shut was remarkable.
Again, there was power in the Dhananjayans' `Ashoka Sanghamitra.' This was the historic dialogue between father and daughter about violence. The veteran dancers tempered the fiery words with sensitivity and wove short nritta passages into the dramatic tapestry. Lakshmi Viswanathan gave music the pride of place. Fond and familiar melodies like `Thaye Yashoda,' `Priye Charusheele' and `Neematale' embellished the slick presentation of abhinaya. Her candid manner suited the roles she played, but the constant shifting of the conversation from side to side was confusing.
The Narasimhacharis used a garland of gems composed by Subramania Bharati to illustrate a young girl Kannamma's journey through life. The duo played the multiple roles with ease.
Love is a theme that is ancient yet contemporary. Through the lyrics of Kalidasa and Jayadeva, the season of spring and the joy and sorrow that love causes were explored by Chitra Visweswaran. She was at her expressive best, but it was her lively theermanam that grabbed attention. The pace of dramatisation lagged in the latter half though. It was a pleasant surprise to see musician-composer R.Visweswaran back on stage after an illness. The music was tuneful but patchy.
The artiste, who scored on concept and creativity was Anita Ratnam in `Neelam.' She used a ragam-tanam-pallavi format of Dikshitar's `Rangapura vihara' sung by Sikkil Gurucharan to visualise Lord Ranganatha through the Ramayana and the Dasavatara legends. The imaginative use of the long, flower garland as a prop was another creative add-on. The frieze of Kothanda Rama was especially dramatic.
Rhythm has the upper hand when Rajeswari Sainath is on the stage. The ragamalika (Adi tala) composition on `Brahma' sparkled with energy and precision. Even the thattu-mettu sequences had character. Rajeswari was backed by an excellent orchestra.
The beauty and grace of Mohiniyattom was epitomised by Dr. Neena Prasad in her opening solkattu in Gambhiranattai ragam, misra jati triputa talam. The slow piece acquired a meditative feel with vocalist Madhavan Namboodri's treatment. The Ashtapadi verses showcased the dancer's expressiveness.
It is an honour for a student to be representing her guru, and Priya Murle made her offerings with great sincerity. The choreographies of Sudharani Raghupathy included a verse addressing a statuette at Hoysala by D.V.Gundappa, the padam `Thathai mozhiyai' and a Mayamalavagowla thillana.
The stage dιcor by Jaya Venkatraman was tasteful but the lighting was a let down. Comperes P.C.Ramakrishna, Swarnamalya and Lavanya Sankar added style to the action. And a word of praise for the Advisory Council members — Revathi Ramachandran and Radhika Shurajit — for conducting the festival with great efficiency.
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