Tinkling anklets

It has been a dream of mine - I longed to attend the Annual Dance Festival at the Music Academy in Chennai - for so many years. Work schedules and holiday plans always came in the way. This last season was when I was finally able to fulfill my wish - though I missed attending every single performance showcased at the festival. And, how much I enjoyed it! I got to see different artists perform - The Dhananjayans, Malavika Sarukkai, The Nrityagram Ensemble, Orissa Dance Academy led by Aruna Mohanty, Jayaprabha Menon, C V Chandrasekhar and Dominique Delorme. It was a wonderful week and here is my take on their performances. I missed Alarmel Valli, Darpana and Kalakshetra and also some of the up and coming artistes like Urmila Satyanarayana and Sheejith/ Parvathi Nambiar. I hope I can see them perform soon.

It seems like I am not to excited by traditional dance items. A nayika pining for a loved one is pretty stale for me. While I am open to seeing a fresh interpretation of a traditional piece, I feel that I enjoy artistes who take up new and contemporary themes for their shows. And it seems that there is a lot that is being explored by artistes, particularly the younger ones, these days. I also seem to relate better to such ideas rather than listen to the lament of a lovelorn damsel.

The other aspect of a live performance which to me has seen a significant change is the accompanying music. Artistes are increasingly using recorded music of very high quality for their shows. Besides the quality of singing at the dance recitals seems to have to improved dramatically and the singers are definitely adding to creating the appropriate mood and feel at a dance recital.

Shantha and V P Dhananjaya

Let me start with the Dhananjayans. I have had the privilege of being a student of theirs and have always admired them for their discipline and staunch adherence to methodology of dance as espoused by their alma mater, Kalakshetra. They performed a single item, the Nrityopaharam based on episodes from the Ramayana. A brilliant piece of choreography, it brought together nritta and abhinaya in combination. For a man born in 1939, rendering an item for the entire hour and 30 minutes without a break, was in itself a great achievement. And, the fact that he did justice to the composition was very evident. Shantha on her part is no young lady. She was as graceful and perfect as I remember her 30 years ago. To me they embody the idea of Ardhanareeshwara, maintaining their individual identities and yet complimenting each other.

Jayaprabha Menon

Jayaprabha Menon is a relatively recent convert to Mohiniattam. She started off as a student of Bharatanatyam and was drawn to the sensuous dance of Mohini after she watched Bharati Shivaji perform. In the past few years, she has concentrated on honing her skills in this dance form and she is considered a performer to watch out for. Her performance combined traditional and contemporary pieces from the dance's repertoire. One particularly noteworthy item which she presented was based on the story of Yashodhara, Sidhartha's wife, who laments her husband's decision to leave the palace and his family in search of enlightenment and calls herself the "Sidhartha" for having accepted her husband's decision to forsake his worldly responsibilities. I hope to see more of her in the future.

Malavika Sarukkai

Malavika Sarukkai never fails to impress me. She seems an embodiment of grace and finesse and her statuesque figure is very striking. Her performance was based on a very contemporary theme - terrorism and she juxtaposed the idea of sacred spaces (our temples) against the chaos and destruction that violence causes. All the items followed this central theme and the entire performance stood out as an artiste's call for lasting peace. That she is a story teller par excellence through her dance is a no brainer. She has the power to transport the audience to the world that she creates and I can vouch for this experience.

Surupa Sen and Bijayini Satpathy

Surupa and Bijayini are like two peas in a pod. When the Almighty created them, he created one in the image of the other. They are like God's chosen twins - ever synchronised and in complete harmony but without losing their own individual personality and talent. They are supremely blessed and I am sure Protima Bedi must be smiling at them. They presented traditional pieces, but their choreography and presentation came like a whiff of fresh air. There was something ethereal in their rendering of "Sridevi" and their presentation "Om Namah Shivayai, Om Namah Shivaya" was nothing short of divine. The fact that I had seen these presentations on an earlier occasion at Kalakshetra did not take away from my enjoying their performance and I am sure I will continue to follow them closely.

Aruna Mohanty

Aruna Mohanty is my find of the season. I have been so impressed by her and her dancing and researching her, she has led me to discover the Orissa Dance Academy. I first came across Aruna during a recent performance at Kalakshetra and she was mind blowing. I was surprised and ashamed not to have heard of her before. She has an expressive face, particularly her eyes and she managed to get me to experience her feelings, emotions and moods conveyed so eloquently through her dance. I loved the choreography in both items presented - Navarasa and Kripanidhaana - and the artistes from the Academy were outstanding. The highlight of the performance was the perfection in their execution. Again the evening had a contemporary and traditional piece but was stood out was the freshness in how they were presented. I will not miss an opportunity to see more of this group and Aruna in particular and I hope there will be more occasions soon.

I also attended two sessions featuring a Frenchman, Dominque Delorme and much acclaimed guru, C V Chandrasekhar. I do not have anything specific to say about their performances - that is not to belittle them but their performances did not move me at all.

Dominique Delorme

C V Chandrasekhar