Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
MUSIC ACADEMY
Full of pleasant surprises
ANJANA RAJAN
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The way Bijayini Satpathy and Surupa combine in duets is hard to find in any other duo.
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Photos: V. Ganesan
In grand style: Nrityagram performance brought the curtains down.
As in the first year of The Music Academy Dance Festival, Nrityagram brought the curtains down on the weeklong event in grand style. This group that till a few years ago was relatively little known in Chennai, has grown vastly in popularity, and the
credit for this change is due to the skill of its dancers and the institution’s team spirit. Together they translate hard work into an aesthetic delight.
What comes to mind while watching Nrityagram perform is that the dancers, while preserving and projecting the sensuality of Odissi, manage to draw attention to the dance, not the dancers’ bodies. Aesthetic costuming and tasteful lighting combine with alternating pace and tranquillity.
Ornamental package
Surupa Sen’s group choreography is full of pleasant surprises, staggered entries and exits and re-entries, changing combinations of twos and threes, in a package that is ornamental without burdening the senses with over activity. The first presentation was ‘Pratima,’ a work in progress based on the concept of the dancer and the image. Surupa also displays judgment in choosing the dancers for the various pieces.
After the group presentation, Pavitra Reddy danced the solo Oriya poem, a plea to Lord Jagannath. Choreographed by Kelucharan Mohapatra, it was replete with the high energy of devotion. With episodes from Gajendramoksha, Narasimha avatara, the saving of Draupadi in the Kaurava court, etc., it illustrated the devotee’s yearning for a slice of compassion from Mahavishnu too. Pavithra’s agile leaps and expressive face brought a freshness to oft seen imagery.
The way Bijayini Satpathy and Surupa combine in duets is hard to find in any other duo. The two got together for the ashtapadi ‘Dheera Sameere,’ which instead of being treated as an intense piece depicting viraha tapa, the agony of Krishna longing for Radha, was put into a light and sensual mood.
Both dancers interpreted the spirit of the sakhi, who joyfully and playfully tells Radha to get ready to meet him. The ending, when the two exited the stage the flute drew Bijayini back, was one of those touching strokes of the choreographer Surupa. Music for this piece was composed by Pt. Raghunath Panigrahi.
Range of emotions
Bijayini, gifted with a face full of character that can express a range of emotions, presented the Ashtapadi ‘Priye Charusheele.’ Choreographed by Surupa, this too had music by Raghunath Panigrahi. Compassion and drama blended in the portrayal.
The evening came to a close with the Ardhanarishwara stotra of Sankaracharya. Presented by Bijayini and Surupa, it was another example of how Surupa utilises her own and other’s personalities to give colour to her choreography. Here, instead of presenting the two aspects of Siva and Parvati, lasya and tandava, as separate entities, she chose to highlight how the two opposites constantly attract, interpreting it from a sringara point of view. The ‘amala’ (flawless) but less varied expression exuded by Surupa was an aesthetic foil to the resilience and mellowness of Bijayini.
With Lynn Fernandez as technical director, the other dancers in the group were Manasi Tripathy and Rasmi Raj. In the orchestra were Sanjib Kumar Kunda (violin), Srinibas Satpathy (flute), Rajendra Kumar Swain (vocal) and Budhanath Swain (mardala). The triumph of the group is its seamless excellence.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
