Assamese dance form to take the stage

Chandigarh: "Sattriya", a classical dance form of Assam, will be performed for the "first time" in Chandigarh at the two-day National Classical Dance Festival starting Saturday at 6.30pm at Tagore Theatre.
Prateesha Suresh & Group will perform "Sattriya" on Sunday.
Sattriya was a folk dance and gradually evolved as a classical dance form. Through her foundation started in 2008, Prateesha works for the cause of this dance form.The foundation at many levels is not only trying to preserve this art, but also works for enriching it.
A total of five groups from across the country would be participating in the festival, organised by the UT department of cultural affairs. On Saturday, Sanjali Centre for Odissi Dance will perform "Sookshma and Odissi Dance Ballet". Leading Odissi dancer Sharmila Mukerjee and her ensemble Sanjali will present 'Sookshma', an Odissi dance ballet based on the Kannada folk tale 'A flowering tree' by A K Ramanujan.
The second performance on Saturday will be a Kathak dance by Piyush Preeti Dance Company from Delhi. Piyush and Preeti are the students of Pt Rajendra Gangani. Disciples of Saroja Vaidyanathan will perform Bharatanatyam on Sunday. Saroja had received the Padma Shri in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013. She is also the recipient of the Sahitya Kala Parishad Samman of the government of Delhi, the Kalaimamani title bestowed by the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram and the Sangeet Natak Akademi award.
Padma Shri Devyani Kumari, too, will perform Bharatanatyam on Sunday.
"The aim of holding the festival in Chandigarh is to encourage classical dance in the city so that more and more residents learn it. Besides, we have an audience which likes the classical dance forms," said Kuldeep Sharma, director of Tagore Theatre.