forthcoming events @ b'lore

1. July 12: Dr. Maya Rao show, Ravindra Kalakshetra, Bangalore, 6pm
2. Prateeksha Kashi's dance . Venue: Indiranagar Sangeeth Sabha, Indiranagar, Bangalore, 6:30 pm to 8pm
3. July 16: Arangetram of Padmaja Venkatesh’s disciple, ADA Rangamandira, Bangalore, 6pm
4. July 21 & 22, 2011
July 21:
Invocation dance troupe: Keshava College of Dance & Music – ISRO Bangalore
Inauguration by guests who are exponents of arts & also dignitaries from various govt. bodies.
Opening presentation by senior dancers of Keshava Nrithya Shala - Rajajinagar, Bangalore
Solo Odissi by Priya Singh (Mumbai)
Bharatanatyam group choreography presentation by Vishruta School of Performing Arts of BK Vasantalakshmi
Solo Kathak by Shuchismita Dutta (Kolkata)
Solo Bharatanatyam by Pavitra Bhatt (Mumbai)
Solo Mohiniattam by Rekha Raju (Bangalore)
July 22:
Welcome presentation followed by PPT on Guru HR Keshava Murthy.
Opening presentation by Ashwini S in Bharatanatyam style
Dance drama PRAKRUTI VARNAN by Guru Sharad Pandya & troupe of Purva School, Vadodara, Gujarat
Jugalbandhi by duo Manasi & Raghunandan in Odissi and Bharatanatyam
Odissi solo by Soumya Bose (Kolkata)
Kuchipudi solo by Prateeksha Kashi (Bangalore)
Venue: The Town hall, JC Road, Bangalore, 5.15pm onwards.
For information and invitation cards please contact festival conveners.
Manasi / Raghunandan - 9886694202 / 9743448300 / kns.bangalore@gmail.com
4 . July 23: Performance for the Horizon series by IICR, at Kincha Auditorium, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan , #43, Race Course Road, Bangalore 560 001 at 6:30pm
5. July 30: Arangetram of  Shreya Naga Nevile , disciple of Dipti Mukund at Ravindra Kalakshetra at 6.30pm
6. July 29 : Meghna Venkat - Bharatanatyam solo- seva sadan, 14th cross malleswaram, at 6:00 pm.

Shabda

A new initiative has been formed, called 'Shabda. The people behind the concept are T M Krishna, R K Shriramkumar and H K Venkatram.
they have conducted several workshops, and below is the link of their demonstartions :
Prof. V.V. Subramaniam Interpreting Sangita Bhava on the violinhttp://shabda.co.in/videos/subramaniam.php


Sangita Kalanidhi Smt. R. Vedavalli The handling of Raga Atanahttp://shabda.co.in/videos/vedavalli.php


Guru Karaikkudi Sri R.Mani The aesthetics of Tisramhttp://shabda.co.in/videos/karaikudi-mani.php


Smt. Lakshmi Vishwanathan Music in Bharatanatyamhttp://shabda.co.in/videos/lakshmi-vishwanathan.php


Sri S.Jayachandran Architecture and choreographyhttp://shabda.co.in/videos/jayachandran.php


Smt. Bragha Bessell Abhinaya in a Padamhttp://shabda.co.in/videos/bragha-bessell.php
I haven’t seen all of them, but im sure it will helpful.


COUTESY - WORLD WIDE WEB AND BHARATNATYAM, BY SANGEETHA.

Season 2010

Chennai December season, has seen many decades and has staged many legendary artists.
'Season' has always been awaited by Rasikas and artists alike. This year again, many of us look forward for creativity at its best!
Many sabha have already given their schedules and rehearsals have already begun!
The Natya Kala Coneference 2011,(Narada Gana Sabha) is dedicated to the memory of Natyacharya Vazhuvoor Ramayya Pillai. They are going to present the Legacy of Ramayya Pillai and it is calling for interested participants!
Up-coming Artists, interested in performing in various sabhas around the city, please contact immediately to the sabha organisers, since its already time! One of the few ways to get the opportunity is by repetitive calling and of course recommendations and foremost- talent!
Practice hard.. thats is the only technique and trick and what you may name it!
In case you have forgotten what we saw last year during the season, here are some glimpes :
Allarmel Valli Performance - Young at heart, her entry showcased her creaivity, experience! the spot light was on the side- second wing, her hand alone sprung on to the stage and mudras were dancing with the laya of mridangam! afterwhich she came into the spotlight onto the centre-centre! An entry which stayed in mind for an year now, will last longer!
She could mover her fingers with great ease and fast vigour, she flaunted her free flow of hands and fingers but it became a overdose after a while. she held postures like a sculpture! tala was missed at various places and mostly at arudhis! She performed with ease the varnam ' swmi ninne korina', padam - 'enthati kuluke' . i think tapping the gajje too many times makes it very monotonous. the interpretations were very creative and excellent!
Priyadarshini Govind, one of the most beautiful and well-known dancers in india today, she began with Amritha varshini pushpanjali which was soft and had beautiful steps. A sloka was next performed, in sanskrit verses, very commendable. The main item - Varnam, one of the best varnams, Karaharapriya : 'Moham Aginen indha velai'- excellent abhinaya, new sancharis, the trishra jathis were a treat to ears and eyes. Cupid's arrow was marvellously portrayed. Her abhinaya, sanchari description is smething i always awaited for. Yadhava raya, saveri padam ' marai thaval vadum subramanya lolane' - in kandita nayika were few other items she performed.
Rama Vaidhyanathan, a tall, slender and amazing women who can touch your soul with her dance. Her theme for the season was the ' thousand years of Thanjavur Brihadheewara temple'. the begining item was ' Alaya Arimugam'-  in Gambhira nattai, atta thalam, keerthanam in varali raagam - an excellent piece where nritta dominated yet the audience were able to visualise the great temple, so much her postures spoke!
Literature was very well utilized and apt number of repetitions and kept the audience is rapture.
varnam - 'Saami ni ramanave' - a traditional varnam in kamaas, was another beautiful item, where again nritta dominated, her jathis and theermanams were impeccable. This made a longing for the usual abhinaya of Rama akka which lacked in this performance. javali , in suruti ragam ' Gani vorani vina yendu ra?' - another beautiful piece by her. A special mention of stage lighting by Paul Victor had to be there, since we were all taken to the Big temple while she danced!
I was lucky to attend anita guha's ballet too, but unprepared i was without a book n pen!! im writing this from my memory, if any corrections do let me know. The theme ' Mahadevam mahasenam Bhaje' was an excellent in its choreography, music and dance! She marked the very begining with a drum which began dancing on its own. This is was done with the help of lighting and puppet techniques.
The girl who danced as Shiva wa simpeccable in her abhinaya and nritta. the story was well described by all artists and even the tiny tots performed with great grace and maturity. Their Guru has done an excellent work on them, no wonder she was honoured 'Natya acharaya'. Few stories, depictions were changed to suit the timing ( i guess), this could have been avoided.
Anuradha and Shridhar, duo from bengaluru, also performed the traditional items of kalakshetra. I should  mention here that, Shridhar took one more step ahead in deciphering each and every word in the Dharu varnam ' mathe malaya dhwaja' and has portaryed word to word sancharis, which showcased  his research in the text. His devotion for God and dance was palpable.
here u go, with a few glimpses from Season 2010!
I hope to keep you posted with upcoming performances, workshops and anything anybody about Dance.
Prepre yourselves to embrace the upcoming season! :)

Introduction- Bharatanatyam

Dance is a divine art. These are mainly performed to express an emotion in which the whole community participates. Thus, dance and music form an integral part of life itself. India is no exception, possessing a very rich culture and heritage that encompasses so many dance and music forms. It is very interesting to know that Indian classical dance forms are inspired by “bhakthi”. 

Bharatanaytam, a dance with exact science, needs no introduction. This dance, places equal emphasis on different aspects, like Bhava, Ragam, Thalam. Dancing in temples has been practiced for 1800 years and is still young, fascinating and alive.

The origin and antiquity of Bharatanatyam can be traced back to the Vedas and with the figures of dancing girls in Mohen-jo-daro. 

Sculptures from important temples of Tamil Nadu with dancing postures are found in:

·         Brahadeeswara Thanjavur     -- 11^th  century

·         Sarangapani Kumbakonam   --12^th   

·         Nataraja Chidambaram          -- 13^th

·         Arunachalesvara Thiruvannamalai   -- 15^th

·         Vrddhagirisvara vrddhachalam         -- 16^th

The history of dance can be classified under three heads:

·         Prehistoric: Vedic reference, in puranas, epics etc.

·         Medieval: From 2 BC to 9 AD. We can explore the monuments, Buddhist stupas, caves of Ellora, and temples in various parts of India.

·         Modern: From 10 AD to present day. This period witnessed a great growth, exploration and development in the art form and can be seen in many sculptures, musical areas, dramas, and other books.  

                                                                                                                                                                                 

We all know, Natya Sastra is the treatise for any fine art. Sri S.N Ramadesikan, mentions that Natya Sastra had its origin around 200 B.C.  It is also believed that trio – Sadhasivar, Brahma, Bharathar, created Natya Sastra. Each contributed 30000, 12000, 6000 slokas respectively. 

Abhinava Gupta from Kashmir and many others also called this Natya Veda.  

In the time of Silapadhikaram, dance was called Natyam. “Tamil Natya” was also called by different names like Sadirattam, Daisattam, Koothu (Shanthi koothu and Vinodha koothu), Aadal, Nrittam, Layam, Nartanam, Natam. It is strongly believed that "Sadir" was the precursor of modern Bharatanatyam. An immense variety of exquisite rhythmic patterns called Nritta on the one hand and highly refined and suggestively symbolic Abhinaya on the other, distinguish Bharatanatyam from the other dancing styles of the world. Every dance unit called Karana in Sanskrit or Adavu in Tamil is made up of a specific pose, a foot movement and an Nritta Hasta. A continuation of such unit makes an Angahara (dance sequence) and a number of Angaharas constitutes a full dance.

In the thirteenth century, Sarngadeva who wrote the Sangita Ratnakara, classified dance into Natya, Nritta, Nritya.

Hari Om

Dance is an art form where complete surrender is possible! body, mind and soul combine to become an instrument of offering... dance to bliss...


A blog dedicated to my grandfather... Shri. G.Subramanyam. I hope to make you proud every day.