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A feast of Indian dances

GUDIPOODI SRIHARI

The three-day SICA dance festival highlighted the best from the country.

Photos: H. Satish and Mohammed Yousuf

Dancing stars Meenakshi Chittaranjan performing.

The South Indian Cultural Association opted for a dance festival this time, with a mixed fare of Bharatanatyam, a post-modern creative dance and Kuchipudi styles, held at Ravindra Bharati, last week. The festival’s opening was with a pure tradi tional Bharatanatyam presentation by Chennai based artiste Meenakshi Chittaranjan and her disciples. Meenakshi belongs to Pandanallur Bharatanatyam tradition, marked by excellent statuesque posturing and Angikabhinaya.

Pandanallur Chokkalingam Pillai and his son Subbaraya Pillai taught her not only the excellence in the nritta part but delicacies in abhinaya too, with subtle moves. A smart dancer, Meenakshi was a child prodigy t oo. Meenakshi’s dance began with a Dikshitar Kirtana Surya Murthe Namosthute, one among Nava Graha Kirtanas. It was marked by the traditional suryanamaskras and then Nava Graha slokas eulogising the sun god. This was in Sourashtra, and Dhruva talam that gave opportunity for a variety of foot work and imposing Abhinaya. Surya’s (the Sun God) journey across the skies on his horse ridden chariot and his marriage with Chaya Devi were in good detail in her abhinaya.The pallavi and anupallavi were given detailed abhinaya. Enda Mayakario was the Tamil swarajathi she came out with next in Husseini Raga. The pallavi and anupallavi in this describe the devotee of Sundareswara craving for the darsan of her Swami, imagining herself as his beloved. The many efforts she put in the Nayika Bhava of the heroine with detailed abhinaya, with her disciples chorusing Sringara Bhava in char anams, proved a great choreographic work. In Muddugare Yasoda, a popular number in Kuranji, Meenakshi went for depiction of the inbuilt theme of how Yasoda playing with Balakrishna and how she then goes for Kris hna teasing Gopikas and how Rukmini and Krishna fall in love. Neemata Lemayera a javali in Poorvi Kalyani projected the Virahotkhantita and also Kalahantarita nayakies (heroines). Balamurali’s Kuntala Varali Tillana concluded her enchanting show. Aparna Chittaranjan, Sowmya, Preeti and Harini, her disciples, also put to view their good learning under her tutelage. Pandanallur Pandyan c onducted the show with crisp and effective nattuvangam to Girisih’s vocal support and Saktivel’s mridangam play. Srinivasan accompanied them on violin. There were also some special effects provided by technicians, enhancing the show’s impact.

Artists led by Ramya Harishakar.

On the second day of the festival the audience witnessed a unique combination of Bharatanatyam mixed with a Japanese drum and flute show, individually and in combination. The leader of the troop is Ramya Harishankar a renowned and experienced Bharatanatyam artiste. Their Arpana Dance Company is USA based dance unit, introducing which Ramya said they were fortunate to link up with a Japanese percussion and instrumental art troop named ’Kinnera Taiko’. Ramya has disciples in different countries. Almost a dozen members of her own Bharatanatyam school and then half a dozen members of the Japanese percussion art made a queer composition of this show this time here. Ramya termed it ‘post-modern’. One advantage for the audience was the music the Japanese artistes played on flute or sang was akin with that of Indian raga structures, though in elementary structure. Hence the audience could enjoy both. While the Japanese troop gave a live show of their music, the Bharatantayam troupe depended on pre-recorded Carnatic music. And the total impact on the audience was a bit strange composition, neither giving the satisfaction of enjoying a pure Bharatanatyam ballet nor a feel of total Japanese show. However, the creativity seemed to appear when the dancers, half a dozen students of Ramya, presenting the Surya Namaskara based dance purely to the support of swaras and Chollukattu (spelling rhythmic syllables), the Japanese artiste s came out with the play on the drums matching these movements. The essential feature that was at once striking was the Bharatanatyam guru and her disciples displaying excellent discipline in their movements sticking to the on going rhythm. When you look at the Japanese display of their own art, which was also enjoyable by itself, with all the artistes displaying cheerful approach and rhythmic sense and musical melody in their standards, drawing a long applause in the end, one felt satisfied.

The dancers in the group, all of whom excelled, were Chitra, Nithya, Krishna, Ahila, Payal, Garima, Nisha, Shilpa, Mohini, Nandini, Preeti and Amrita. George Abe, Lesley Handa, Bryan Yamami JoAnn Yamada Komai, Kate Kerr Meigneux and Nacy Seikizawa comprised the Japanese Teiko troupe. Ramya Harishankar was the artistic director while Harish Murthy was its producer.

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