After a three-year hiatus, dancer Latha Krishna returns to the Season with a new production ‘Bodhisattva.’ Most remembered for her performance as Manimegalai in the Hindi television show ‘Upasana’ (dubbed in Tamil as ‘Aalayam’), Latha is happy to get back to doing something she loves.
With sister Gita, Latha learnt the rudiments of Bharatanatyam from Narasimhachari and Vasanthalakshmi before branching out.
Over the past 30-odd years, the siblings have experimented with the classical genre and come up with several productions which have found critical acclaim. And now, Latha returns with three solo dance theatre productions, each one as powerful as the next.
She says, “The themes I have selected, especially Savitri and the Buddha, are intense and overpowering, with deep spiritual connotations. And working on them has been an elevating experience. If I am able to share even a fraction of that experience with my audience, I will be very happy.”
Talking about ‘Bodhisatva,’ which is being premiered this Season, Latha says, “I feel the Buddha’s teachings are relevant even today.
I will depict the journey of Prince Siddhartha’s transformation into Gautama Buddha. Music is by Rajkumar Bharati based on the lyrics from ‘Buddha Mahakavyam’ by Valampuri Somanathan. My presentation will combine techniques of dance, theatre and mime.”
Meanwhile, Latha will revisit ‘Savitri’, based on Sri Aurobindo’s classic. “It is high philosophy; it’s the story of mankind’s conquest over fear and death. The dance drama has been re-choreographed.” The music is by Sam Joseph, with Latha’s father Dr. S. Krishnaswamy penning the lyrics.
The third production is titled ‘Bharatiyin Viswaroopam’ and will showcase the different facets of Subramania Bharati’s poetry. The music is, naturally, by Rajkumar Bharati. The three productions have been choreographed by Latha and Gita.
The executive director of Krishnaswamy Associates, the 50-year-old production house, for the past 25 years, Latha has worked on award-winning documentaries and TV shows. In fact, the company will soon launch a Video-On-Demand system whereby about 1,000 hours of the company’s programmes can be viewed from any corner of the world with just a click using Content Delivery Network.
While all this keeps Latha quite busy, dance gives her great satisfaction. “For me, dance is a form of meditation,” she concludes.
