Fiesta of artistry and excellence

Soorya’s ‘Parampara’ dance festival in Thiruvananthapuram showcased some of the best of classical dances of South India by noteworthy young dancers.

November 19, 2015 02:35 pm | Updated October 18, 2016 10:23 am IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Bharatanatyam recital by Lavanya Ananth at 'Parampara Dance Festival' organized by Soorya India. Photography by HAREE FOTOGRAFIE, NEWNMEDIAâ„¢.

Bharatanatyam recital by Lavanya Ananth at 'Parampara Dance Festival' organized by Soorya India. Photography by HAREE FOTOGRAFIE, NEWNMEDIAâ„¢.

S olos and duets by noted talents in different classical dance streams formed this year’s ‘Parampara’ dance fete, package, hosted by Soorya, in the capital city. The dancers were also took to the stage featured for ‘Rasavikalpam’ , organised by Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, at different venues around the state.

Lavanya Ananth

Bharatanatyam

In her recital on the opening day, she impressed with her skill in abhinaya. She portrayed a heroine immersed in thoughts of her lord in a ragamalika varnam by K.N. Dandayuthapani Pillai. Lavanya made it worthy an attempt by presenting the heroine as one who sees her beloved instead of herself when gazing into the mirror; a heroine whose heart beats like the sound of the damru. She then portrayed the fearless nayika in ‘Yarukkagilum bayama...’, Subbarama Iyer’s padam in raga Begada. An ashtapadi and a thillana were presented towards the end.

Prateeksha Kashi

Kuchipudi

It is not surprising to see a young dancer making her start full of energy. Prateeksha went a step ahead and sustained the momentum throughout the recital. She came to terms with the stage in no time and effectively utilised the space right from the start – a pravesa daravu followed by a kauthuvam in praise of Lord Ganesha. The Bhamapravesam and the tarangam weren’t all that illustrative, but gave a hint of what she can accomplish. Prateeksha ably brought in the shades of envy and despair in Radha as she presented ‘Yahi Madhava, Yahi Keshava...’ However, that fine undercurrent of Radha’s love and devotion was something missing in the portrayal. The highlight of her recital was ‘The Eternal Kanya’, which was premiered in the tour, narrating the story of Devi Kanyakumari. Choreographed under the guidance of her mother and mentor, Vyjayanthi Kashi, Prateeksha presented it impressively with her agile footwork and body movements complemented with rapid change in facial expressions.

The Kirans

Bharatanatyam

Gopu Kiran and Ashin Kiran started off their recital with ‘Nataraja Vandanam’ set to raga Natta and Adi tala. Although presented together, the duo hardly attempted to do something that utilised the scope of a duet in the Adana varnam ‘Ninne Nera Nammi...’, a composition of Thuraiyur Rajagopala Sharma. They alternatively performed the dance and abhinaya. Gopu Kiran then presented ‘Vanaraa Veerane...’, praising Lord Hanuman. The best of the lot was the concluding ‘Radhamadhavam’, in which ‘Yahi Madhava...’ and ‘Priye! Charuseele...’, the two ashtapadis, were combined and presented as one. Ashin was exceptional as Radha in full despair and Gopu played the part of Krishna well enough, spicing up the narrative.

Kirti Ramgopal

Bharatanatyam

Kirti’s recital had everything in right proportion. After opening with a mallari and alarippu, Kirti moved on to the central piece, ‘Swamiye Vara Solladi...’, a composition of K.N. Dandayuthapani Pillai in Poorva Kalyani. The jathis weren’t overly long or exaggerated but were well-planned and ably executed. The subtle nuances that she bought into the basic adavus, in terms of form and the way of execution, was a fresh approach. The narratives during the sahitya came alive with well-timed sancharis. She ended the recital with Jayadeva’s ashtapadi piece and a ragamalika thillana.

Sreelatha Vinod

Bharatanatyam

She chose to present Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Anandamrithakarshini...’ as the opening piece of her recital. The varnam ‘Nandagopalane...’, by Periyasaamy Thooran in Bhairavi, Adi tala, covered almost all the stories connected with Krishna, including the episode of Kuchela. Though they are all familiar stories, Sreelatha enriched them by adding short imaginary situations in tune with the content. With the dancer’s ability to communicate very well through the medium of dance, these additions proved to be like cherries on a cake. An eye for variety was evident in the pieces that followed – ‘Enganum vara vara...’ and ‘Chinnam Sirukiliye...’, before concluding with a thillana in raga Behag.

Janaki Rangarajan

Bharatanatyam

Janaki had a promising start to her recital with an alarippu with Thiruppugazh piece. Along with clinically precise footwork she also tried to bring in some emotive content, by detailing some tales connected to Lord Muruga. Janaki was trying a bit too hard in the items that followed and thus the rest of her recital ended up being less captivating than those of other dancers.

Devi and Girish Chandra

Kuchipudi

Devi and Girish danced a Ganesa stuti by Swati Tirunal as the invocation piece for their recital. The tharangam they chose to perform was ‘Alokaye Sri Balakrishnam...’. The two made effective use of the opportunities to role-play in the narratives making the duet a meaningful one. Fast-paced footwork done in sync, controlled movements on the brass plate and sculptural postures added visual appeal to the recital. The story of ‘Gajendramoksham’ was aptly narrated in the ‘Mandookasabdam’ piece. The recital would have been much more successful if the duo tried to bring even more finesse and clarity to their footwork and hand gestures. After an ashtapadi, the two concluded their recital with ‘Anandatandavam’.

Lakshmi Parthasarathy Athreya

Bharatanatyam

With effortless dancing and fine-tuned abhinaya Lakshmi used the stage to make a mark. She started off with a refreshing Anjali in Gambheera Nattai, followed by ‘Ananda Narthana Ganapathim’ in Natta. Rather than going with one of the usual heroines, she chose to present Swati Tirunal’s padavarnam ‘Anjaneya Raghuramadootha...’ (Saveri/ Adi), in which Hanuman is the central character. Episodes illustrating heroic deeds of Hanuman were well portrayed and the element of bhakti was evident throughout. She then presented a Meera bhajan, in which she portrayed a nayika pining for her love. Lakshmi concluded her recital with an equally delightful thillana.

Ayswaria Wariar

Mohiniyattam

Ayswaria presented her own choreography ‘Matha Gange Pranamamyaham’. The ragamalika composition also had some voice-overs in between to bring out the essence of the theme. Stories and scenes connected with river Ganga formed the content of the choreography. Her intension was good but when considered as a whole, the production did not have much to offer, particularly if the aim was to highlight the importance of preserving Ganga or rivers in general.

Meenakshi Srinivasan

Bharatanatyam

The 10-day long festival came to a fitting finale with Meenakshi’s recital. With a nritha that’s precise yet melodic, abhinaya that is subtle yet detailed and an approach that was inventive yet traditional, Meenakshi crafted a distinctive style, which caught the attention of the viewers right from the start. She commenced the recital with a pushpanjali and alarippu. She did not rush through the choreographies and adequate space was given to the musicians, who in turn used the chance to set the mood. The love and longing of a heroine was presented in the crowing piece ‘Mohamagine Intha Velayil...’ The peculiar way that she modulated her body movements made the choreography especially fascinating. Patnam Subrahmania Iyer’s javali ‘Appudu Manasu...’ allowed her to present a heroine in a lighter mood. ‘Agnipravesam’ was the next piece, in which she took the audience to the scene of Sita’s trauma upon hearing Rama disown her. The recital concluded with a thillana in Sindhu Bhairavi.

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