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Language of dance
A.SANGAMESWARAN
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The five-day festival, ‘Ranga Parichaya,’ showcased the performances of senior artistes and those of up-and-coming youngsters as well.
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Dance of the enchantress: Students of Natanakaisiki, Irinjalakuda
Natanakaisiki, an offshoot of Natanakairali, Irinjalakuda, organised a Mohiniyattom festival called ‘Ranga Parichaya,’ which showcased the performances of senior artistes and those of up-and-coming youngsters as well. K.G. Poulose, Vice-
Chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam, inaugurated the five-day festival. This was followed by Thiruvathirakkali by disciples of Nirmala Panicker. New varieties of Thiruvathirakkali, which included feats such as balancing a pot on the head, kolattam and so on, were presented.
New choreography
Kalamandalam Kshemavathy
On the second day, veteran danseuse Kalamandalam Kshemavathy gave a talk on new choreographies in Mohiniyattom.
This was followed by her performance on Ashtapadi and Soundaryalahari. She enacted ‘saptanayika,’ based on the former, and ‘ashtarasas,’ based on the latter.
A cholkettu was presented by her in three variants – chathurasram, thisram and misram. She also danced beautifully to the lyrics of ‘Krishna nee enne ariyilla,’ penned by poetess Sugathakumari, and to a gazal too, thereby highlighting the universality of the language of dance.
She was assisted by her disciple Krishnakumar who presented a varnam and a bhajan ‘Pibare Rama rasam,’ composed by Sadasiva Brahmendra.
Vineetha Nedungadi presented ‘Varshamohini,’ which depicted navarasas based on the rain. It was an apt choice as the organisers had chosen navarasa as the theme of the festival.
The music has been set and played by veena maestro Ananthapadmanabhan. Also, the use of raga Paadi for the adbhutha rasa is a deviation from the existing practice, as that raga is generally associated with veera rasa.
On the penultimate day, students of Natanakaisiki performed Mohiniyattom along with Kapila. Her enactment of ‘palazhimathanam’ and other episodes for the Navarasa varnam in Reethigowla was proof of her dexterity in abhinaya. A cholkettu and a Thillana in Bhoopalam, composed by Swati Tirunal, were also performed.
Nangiarkoothu
Kapila.
The final day witnessed a Nangiarkoothu performance by Kapila.
Kalamandalam Jayaprakash, Suseelamany (vocal), Kalanilayam Prakasan (maddalam), Reghunath (flute), Nandakumar, Unnikrishnan (edakka), Rajeev, Hariharan, Narayanan Nambiar (mizhavu) were some of the artistes who accompanied the dancers.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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