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Photo: Deepak Mudgal

In focus One of the dance presentations at Ananya festival in New Delhi.

A measure of the immense intellectual input in veteran dancer and choreographer Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar’s designing of Kreeda could only be gleaned from his participation during the interactive sessions. Meticulous in not mutating the Bharatanatyam adavu alphabet, while creating the experience of play of typical Indian sports like captain-captain, jumping-horse, gulli-danda, skipping, cartwheel, ball-juggling, top-spinning, kite-flying, the group work somewhere fell short in transferring the choreographer’s ideas to dancers to evoke rasa in the audience.

Sahitya-less music set to ragas like Behag, Shankarabharanam, Brindavansaranga, Kamas, Pantuvarali, Kuntalavarali sans melodic flourishes, innovative sounds like “Kho” (the game) punctuating a whole jati and a concluding montage of glimpses of all games notwithstanding, the presentation remained tepid, without high points. The flat lighting aided no dramatic impact and the South Indian lehenga costume accenting youthful joy camouflaged further the not-too-distinctive linear geometry of female dancers.

The three male dancers were vibrant. If you feel that the classical dance of ones settled abroad, knowingly or unconsciously loses its authentic flavour, think again. America-based Anuradha Nehru’s Kuchipudi Kalanidhi troupe took the audience by storm with the dancers rendering “Rasa”, highlighting the nine dance moods through episodes from the Ramayana. Treated at two levels, Kishor Musalikanthi’s choreography used the narrative alternately with abstract representation, with nritta used to emotive effect.

The performance showed enviable group discipline, aesthetic group arrangements using micro-movements of head, eyes, hands etc. But characters like Shooranakha were turned into caricatures. Abstract dance, generally brilliantly emotive was at times less so, as in the ‘hasya’ episode and scenes falling between two or more moods defied categorisation. The problem remained of having to look for humour in the Ramayana. But full marks for the quality of dancing! The logic of ragas – e.g. Kanada for depicting sringar, was inexplicable.

Nothing matched the technique, choreographic sensitivity and totality of vision of Guru Gangadhar Pradhan’s Orissa Dance Academy presentation. Holding an overflowing audience to pin-drop silence with the invocatory power of ‘Dhayaye Suvarna Varna’ Durga hymn in the Mangalacharan were dancers Jahnavi and Suchishmita.

With concentrated inner stillness both saluted the destructive and benign aspects of the Goddess through highly reposeful dancing. Impeccable male-female group made Thai Nata in Mohana and Shankarabharanam a delight of frozen postures and rhythm. Jayadeva’s Dasavataram verses transformed into pure meditative power. In the ashtapadi,“Chandana Charchita” the mystic play of Krishna with the myriad Gopis (Aneka Nari) in “Ananga Utsav” (celebration of formless love), for the bliss (as Jayadeva says) of mankind, each individually experiencing Krishna dancing with her, was delicately choreographed.

And what mellow singing!Both male and female voices, with Guru Gangadhar’s ukkuta recitation and Dhaneswar Swain’s mardala melody were finely balanced, at a soothing decibel level. Dedicated Samudra’s contemporary dance drawing on forms like Bharatanatyam, Kalari and Yoga has an unrelentingly high physicality making the viewer sweat. After a long Keli play on the Chenda, came Soorya, the troupe led by Madhu Gopinath and Vakkom Sanjeev, with Kalari-inspired movements in Surya-namaskar with the Aditya Hridaya Mantra creating powerful arrangements invoking the Sun God riding triumphantly atop his chariot.

Tillana and Panchari purely rhythmic numbers were ideal vehicles for these dynamos of energy, the foot-stomping rhythm and hand-claps reminiscent of the earlier years under Daksha Sheth. The Ardha Nareeswaram duet was beautifully coordinated. The insistent pulsing of the too-loud mixed music interfered with quietude. Choreographed by Geetanjali Lal, using her musical background for a programme designed round Dhrupad, Dhamar, Khayal, Thumri and Tarana, the Kathak presentation looked under-rehearsed. Common to Kathak, speed was relished with vilambit movements shaky and less assured, in the males. The Chhayanut “Janana Janana Bhaje” duet with dancers Gauri and Vibha was the highlight, nritta interludes following interpretative fluidity with an electric impact. “Devi Bhajo Gunagao” on Durga, as a long solo, was unjustified in a group event. The Darbari Tarana inspired spirited rendition.

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