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Splendid display of compositions
SHYAMHARI CHAKRA
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The 18th annual Konark festival saw artistes display their skills in various forms of dance.
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Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty
Showcasing talent Venkitraman and his troupe member performing Kathakali
The just concluded 18th annual Konark festival of Indian classical dances, hosted by the Orissa Government at the exquisitely designed open-air theatre at Konark with the spectacular Sun temple at the backdrop, would be remembered for the brilliantly
crafted compositions of choreographers in Odissi.
Most of the 10 presentations in this five-day festival were Odissi. Also the festival saw artistes displaying their skills in Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Mohini Attam, Manipuri and Kathakali as well.
‘Pancha Parameswar’, a presentation of the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, Orissa’s premiere college of performing arts, emerged the best show. Jointly choreographed by Manoranjan Pradhan and Lingaraj Swain, both products of the well-known Orissa Dance Academy of Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, it left the spectators spellbound with vivid portrayal of the five facets of divinity - Ganesh, Narayan, Shiva, Durga and Surya - by the 18-member troupe of dancers. Soul-stirring music and rhythm composed by Sukant Kundu and Dhaneswar Swain enhanced the grandeur of the production.
Odissi Research Centre’s ‘Gopakeli’ based on the Oriya ‘Bhagabat’ was another classic creation of Odissi dance exponent Durga Charan Ranbir and music exponent Ramahari Das. Mumbai’s Daksha Mashruwalla and Madhavi Mudgal from New Delhi, both disciples of Kelucharan Mohapatra, presented their neatly crafted new compositions. Daksha’s ‘Gopi Geet’ based on the Sanskrit Bhagabat and Mudgal’s ‘Deskar pallabi’ stood out. So was debutante choreographer Leena Mohanty’s ‘Surya Upasana’.
The Mohini Attam by artistes led by Shyamala Surendran from Kerala impressed one and all. Mumbai’s young and versatile Kathak exponent Bireswar Gautam excelled as a thumri singer and soloist but his small group of four dancers failed to make a mark. On the other hand, Bharatanatyam by Geeta Chandran from New Delhi did not live up to expectations.
Kochi-based Kathakali artiste Kalamandalam Venkitraman and his troupe had a splendid presentation of ‘Dushasan Badh’, an episode from the Mahabharat.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
