This talent needs honing
RUPA SRIKANTH
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Dhanya Chandramohan's foundation in the dance style is solid, but she needs to polish her skills.
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Dhanya Chandramohan.
Dhanya Chandramohan's dance programme at the Music Academy Mini Hall felt like an arangetram of sorts. Marking her first show in Chennai, the audience consisted of friends and well-wishers, some of them eminent musicians and dancers. And on stage, the action was set off by the simple display of yellow marigold strands that mirrored the colours of the dancer's costume tastefully.
Dhanya, a lively, bright-eyed teenager from New Jersey, is a disciple of Suba Ramesh Parmar. Her foundation in the dance style is solid; the clarity of every stamp of her foot and her expressive narrations were proof enough. She is blessed with a natural stage persona as well. The dancer's talent came through early in the opening Annamacharya Todayamangalam, where her sincere araimandi and good posture gave sheen to the pure dance sequences.
Effective portrayal
The portrayals of the Rama, Narasimha and Krishna avatars were equally effective. The dancer's flexibility drew applause in the subsequent `Anandha Koothan,' though a stiffer torso for the dancing god would have been more effective. The mandatory varnam (`Sakhiye,' Anandabhairavi , Tanjore Quartet) was handled with proficiency, but the abhinaya pieces were a let down. The javali `Nee Matale Maayanura' was served with an overkill of anger while Jayadeva's Ashtapadi, `Lalitha Lavanga' in Vasantha , adi talam, with its alternating imagery of an anguished Radha and a flirtatious Krishna was confusing.
Catching sight of the araimandi stance, with the knees bent outward, at the end of a dance programme is a rarity, but Dhanya surprised the viewers with it in the penultimate Behag thillana set in Adi talam, a composition of Lalgudi Jayaraman. The dancer's sincerity and industry ought to be appreciated. The torso needs to be firmer and the geometry of the arm movements requires attention. Dhanya would also benefit from using focused eye movements in the pure dance passages. Suba, nattuvangam, was an active and animated guide in the orchestra. Supporting her skilfully was the mridangist, Viswanathan. Venugopal the vocalist was tuneful but made heavy weather of the Anandabhairavi varnam. N.Srinivasan, flute, and N.Sikhamani, violin, were both a pleasure to hear.
While the dancer changed her costume midway through the recital, 11-year-old Madhumita Parmar provided a short but enthralling musical interlude. With a strong grasp of sruthi and a sweet, biddable voice, she rendered kritis in Bowli ("Karunanidhiye"), Hindolam ("Saraswathi Vidhiyuvathi") and Hamsanadham ragams. Here is another talent being groomed on foreign soil.
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