SRI KRISHNA GANA SABHA
Brilliant synchronisation
RUPA SRIKANTH
|
N. Srikanth and his wife Aswathy had under their belt a foolproof repertoire of traditional pieces.
|
Photo: R. Shivaji Rao.
PERFECT FOIL FOR EACH OTHER: Srikanth and Aswathy.
It is one thing to dance to a good audience. It is quite another to dance to an auditorium full of dancers, each one of whom is a full-blown critic. But N. Srikanth and his wife and dancing partner Aswathy, both dressed in shades of electric blue, were prepared. They had under their belt a foolproof repertoire of traditional but meaty pieces, choreographed to maximise the impact at many levels.
Srikanth is a good dancer with a keen sense of the dramatic. He has the advantage of an early Bhagavatha Mela training besides the Bharata Nrityam dance style he learnt under Padma Subrahmanyam.
The expressive abhinaya and the aptitude he shows as a compere, stem from this theatrical bent. He is applying this talent to choreography as well. There was drama everywhere — in the excellent synchronisation between the dancers, in the speed of nritta, in the clever pauses and in the expressive segments.
To the dancers' credit, every ploy worked in the well-rehearsed and well-thought-out game plan. The musical team was as focused. While G. Vijayaraghavan (mridangam) was the unchallenged master of rhythm, Roja Kannan (nattuvangam) acquitted herself very well. It was good to see K. Hariprasad (vocal) regain his full-throated form. He provided admirable melody along with Sikamani (violin).
The melodious Behag ragam,khanda chapu talam, composition by Guru Surajananda, `Muruganin Marupeyar Azhagu' served as a good warm up to the Nattakurinji ragam, Adi talam varnam by Papanasam Sivan, `Swami Naan Undan Adimai.'
The teermanams were rhythmic interplays of gatis, their variation in the repeated kuraippus for example, represented by deceivingly simple adavus. The thattu-mettu sequences and the arudis were not spared either.
The choreographer also used the dynamics of plurality to create energy using mirror images in movements simultaneously or alternating movements at other times. The interpretive sections had their own layering. While Srikanth kept devotion as the sthayi bhava, Aswathy interpreted the sahitya with Sringara rasa as the dominant mood. It was interesting to see that both the approaches merge in the final aspect of total surrender; it is only the paths that differ. The sanchari from the Thiruvilayadal, though, was unclear.
The dancers made quick work of the lokadhaarmic delineation of `Vishamakkara Kannan' and the more stylised one in the javali, `Sarasamulade.' It was in the Hindolam ragam, Adi talam tillana by K.N.Dhandayuthapani Pillai that what one feared came to pass. When there is so much hype, there is the danger of getting carried away. And when one gets carried away, the Self becomes more important than the art and standards get diluted. And that is not at all a good thing.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Music Season
