Marked by grace and poise
|
The participants at Shivanjali’s annual day celebrations showcased artistry in all the items. T.K.Ganapathy
|
SYMMETRY: Arpana Dance Company.
A spiritual aura filled the ambience of the Corporation Kalaiarangam on an evening of continual drizzle outside. The bedecked stage with a profile of Swami Shantananda Saraswati acquaints the visitor of the saint’s mission through his brainchi
ld — the Temple of Fine Arts — to instil in his disciples and devotees love for the performing arts.
Emceed by Gayatri, the proceedings of the annual day celebrations of Shivanjali began with an orchestral offering by boys and girls dressed in finery.
The offering included an auspicious swagatham, homage to swara devata and a hymn in praise of Lord Krishna, ‘Krishna, Krishna Kahiye,’ culminating in verses in praise of the Lord, composed by the Swami. Then followed the items from a mixed repertory featuring Ramya Harishankar and the Arpana Dance Company of California with guest artistes from Kinnara Taiko Group dominated by grace and delicate nalinam. Ramya of the Vazhuvur School, trained by Swamimalai Rajaratnam and Kalanidhi Narayanan, has performed extensively in India and abroad. The young band of artistes trained by her in the U.S. for several decades, showcased its artistry in all the items.
‘Sandhya Arti,’ choreographed by Dominique Delorme, was the opening number to invoke the divine spirit using the dance vocabulary drawn from the natya shastra. The surrealistic presentation of the Ganga at sunset with the devotees setting afloat oil lamps to the sounds of conch shells, cymbals and drums was more of an interpretation of the river as a perennial source of inspiration to lead a noble life.
Crisp choreography and perfect synchronisation marked the compact presentation of Agni (fire) as a prayer to please Vishnu whose light permeates through the fire, the moon, the sun, the star, Brahma, Rudra, Indra and the yogis.
Symbolic portrayal
Panchabhootam (a masterpiece of C.V.Chandrasekhar) was a creative and symbolic portrayal of the five elements of Nature — earth, water, fire, sky and wind — deified by humanity.
The varied basic movements and yogic postures of Suryanamaskar in stages by the five artistes with grace and poise, drew wide acclaim. With movements that covered the entire stage, the Japanese folk music style of full-throated singing while conveying their goods through the mountain passes from village to village, jamming their beats on the large odaiko (drum) gave a different dimension to the event, which stole the show. Their rhythmic sequence, blending with traditional Japanese rhythms in the lion dance, was a spectacular presentation of the possibility of achieving harmony through mutual co-operation.
The celluloid classics, set to music by K. Rajaratnam, were the high point of the latter half. To the melodious singing of a film song by Akila Gunasekharam, Ramya played the role of a mother with exceptional skill. Expressive abhinaya and uniformity among the dancers in the speed of nritta, in the pauses and in the expressive segments characterised the ode to Siva, ‘Bho Shambho,’ choreographed by Ramya. The final item, ‘jathilayasaaram’ through jatis leaned more towards the rhythmic aspects with the execution of the movements by the dancers with confidence. The adavus were tempered with grace and symmetry.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
