Season 2009-2010’s thematic solos and dance drama lineup

Here I list a  few that I have come across:-

• “Ethiraja Vaibhavam” – Solo Dance Feature on ‘Ramanujacharya by Zakir Hussain. Rupa Srikanth’s review can be read here
• Sharanya Sampath’s thematic presentation on “108 Divya Desam”
• Navtej Johar’s Meenakshi memudham Dhehi, a solo BN presentation- Read Review
• Pavithra Srinivasan’s “Sundarakandam”, a solo BN presentation
• Anjaneya Veera by Gayathri and Balagurunathan
• “Kadalagi Kasindhu”, Mystical Journey of Love with choreography by Kavitha Ramu. Saw some fantastic photos of this new production. Will share details when I get to know more. I am planning to do a special post on this one! For now you could browse http://www.kkthemusical.com/index.html
• “Sri Lalitha Nrutyarchanam” by Manju Bhargavee and Group - Read Review
• Madhuvanthi Arun’s Tamizh. Click here for more information
• “Koodi Erundu Kulirendelo Rembavai” from Anitha Guha’s dance school
• Kalakshetra’s “6 part Ramayana series”
• Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam’s “Paavai Noonbu”- it was nationally telecast in DD some years ago
• Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam’s “Dasavatharam” BN solo
• “Viralimalia Kuravanji” by Nrithyodaya(Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam’s dance school)(refer)
• Krishna Kumari Narendran’s “Siva Swaroopa Thandava Lahiri” -Photogallery/ preview
• Krishnakumari Narendran’s “Srisaradhe”
• “Peacock Blue” – Concept Design by Gowri Ramnarayanan, Shhijith Krishna (Dance) Anjana Anand (Dance) Gayathri Venkatraghavan (Vocal)
• “Sita In Navarasa” a dance drama by Suryanarayana Murthy and his group.
• Kerala Kalamandalam presents “Arunachala Kavirayar’s Ramanatakam” kathakali in Tamil
• Radhika Shurajit, Aadal Kaneero MLV80 (preview)

Search our calendar for event timings and venues.

But remember to check since all programs are subject to change

Filed under: Anitha Guha, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Chennai, Dance, December season., Gayathri Balagurunathan, J. Suryanarayana Murthy, Kalakshetra, Kavita ramu, Madras, Madras Music Season, Madras dance Festival, Padma Subrahmanyam, Sheejith Krishna, choreograhers, choreography, dance drama, dance festival, review, students , kuravanji

Soorya Festival at Malaysia- Report

The Soorya Festival of Indian Music and Dance featuring the dance recital by the Dhananjayans was held at 2 locations in Malaysia on the 6th and 7th of November, 2009. I attended the festival on the 7th held at MAS (Malaysian Airlines) auditorium at Kelana Jaya. The proceeds from the tickets for the show went into helping the Malaysian association for the Blind. The tickets were reasonably priced starting at a reasonable rate of RM 30 (approx USD 10). I am thankful to the organizers and sponsors and the artistes who I believe didnt charge for the peformance for making it so.  Some Indian dance performance tickets were priced as high as RM150 , so presumably aiming at helping the charities didn’t target the middle-class Indians.

The program held on 7th, the festival included the following events- a Carnatic Music concert, felicitation of the local artistes and a dance recital. The event started at 7.30pm and was due to finish at around 10.45pm. It was very pleasant since the speeches by the dignitaries consisted of just 2 sentences or less .

The function began with a prayer song by Preeta Prasad, a Malaysian Carnatic vocalist. She sang the Vinayaga sthuthi ”Mudhakaratha Modhakam” which she would easily have done better justice to, had she sung 1/2 kattai less. She was probably involved in a lot of the organizational activities and was breathless. She handled the tambura for the music and dance concert as well.

The Carnatic Music concert by the couple, Trivandrum Krishnakumar and Binny Krishnakumar followed. Binny krishnakumar was introduced as the ” Chandramukhi ra-ra” playback singer. Both of them are currently disciples of Dr.M. Balamuralikrishna. They were accompanied by Malaysian violinist Sri. Achyuthan Sashidharan Nair and Mridangist Sri.  Sivabalan Shanmuga Sundaram .

The couple had interestingly planned their short concert by including songs with a variety of thalams. The concert featured the following songs:-

1. Rakshamam Sharanagatham- Nattai- Adi, a  composition of Meenakshisuthan, tuned by Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar. A fiery presentation, though I felt there was a slight hurry for the sharanagathi.
2. This was followed by a pleasing “Gopalaka Pahimam Anisam” in  ragam Bhoopalam and set to Misra chapu.
3. An alapana in Hamsanandhi complete with the application of swarabedham technique showing shades of Hindolam followed . The kriti chosen was Paavana guru (Thalam: Rupakam, Composer: Lalitha Dasa). The violinist did not help much with the neraval here, I was almost at the edge of my seat a couple of times with this uneasy feeling that he was going to touch the absent pa sometime . Somehow choosing Hamsanandhi after Bhoopalam wasnt too easy on my ears, but I aint any expert, though. During the thaniavardhanam, the  mridangist wasnt showing enough of sruthi and then a mridangam can sound like the melam at times!
4. The next song was “Muruganai ninaikadha neramillai” in ragam Bageshri and Adi talam, quite a rare piece.
5. They concluded their recital with a BMK thillana in Ragamalika .

A quick award ceremony to felicitate local artistes followed. The “Kalaseva Award” was given to Bharathanatyam artistes Guru (Smt) Vatsala Sivadas, Guru (Smt) Meena Venugopal (Dis of the Dhananjayans) and Sri. Shankar Kandasamy of TFA who is now quite famous in the Madras dance recital circuit too. I remember reading a review of his performance last year by Ms. Nrithya Pillai at Carnatic Darbar . The ceremony was real quick with no bugging speech concerts from the VIPs. God bless the organizers!

The dance concert started immediately after the awardees cleared the stage. The Dhananjayanas were accompanied by their disciples Dhivya Shiva, Gopukiran, Veena Sashidharan and Lavanya Raghuram (Alapana Arts , Singapore). They were efficiently accompanied by Sri. N. Sashidharan (vocal),  Kalaiarasan Ramanathan(violin) and K. P. Ramesh Babu (mridangam).

The recital presented the evergreen choreographies of the Dhanajayans as per the request of the organizers. The recital began with an Anjali performed by the three girls with Sri. Gopukiran handling the Nattuvangam.

The next item presented excerpts from VPD’s  Raamanaatkam. While introducing the item, VPD said that they had choreographed this way back in 1974 as “Ekaharya Lasyangam Ramayana” meaning that the characterization depended on the body language of the dancers rather than the costume itself. He also pointed out that back then they presented it in simple practice costumes. He said that this choreography of theirs has been staged  for over 500  times. The 3 main characters who appeared in this potryal were Kaikeyi (Dhivya). Mantara/Kooni ( Smt. Shantha Dhananjayan) and King Dasaratha (Sri.VPD). Gopukiran handled the nattuvangam for this piece too. The portrayal went down very well with the audience. The Dhanajayans were able to reach across the audience with their clear, simple and elegant choreography.

En palli Kondeeraiya, a padam that narrates briefly the story of Rama and Krishna was performed at a brisk pace by Veena, Lavanya and Gopukiran. Smt. Shantha took over the nattuvangam at this point and I couldn’t help turning my attention to her at times to watch the quiet confidence and efficiency she brought with her nattuvangam. I was carried back in time  to when I learnt this padam (as a fifth grader) from Smt. Indira Rajan at the home of a co-student, Ms. Alamelu at one those streets tugged behind Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in T- Nagar, Chennai.

After the above mentioned item, VPD appeared on stage and said that it was 10.20pm already and that Nandanaar Charaithram would take a minimum of 20 mins and if it was OK for him to proceed, since he was earlier asked to finish at 10.30pm. The audience were all for it.VPD instructed the vocalist to do away with repetitions and Smt. Shantha, Sri.VPD and Sri. Sashidharan were all taking cues from each other so effectively. That’s the perk of having a regular vocalist, who understands dance and with whom you have an understanding.  Thus began Nandanaar Charitharm with Sri.VPD as Nandanaar and Gopukiran was the  master and later Shiva. The three girls joined in at the end.

The Thillana, Aliveni Padam and Shiva natanam mentioned in the brochure were not performed (But en palli kondeeraiya wasnt mentioned in the brochure either)

The audience gave the artistes a standing ovation and Sri. N. Sashidharan picked a camera from his pocket and clicked a picture of the audience from the stage. Without much ado, the artistes were felicitated and then everyone left for home.

Sri. VPD would have been happy since the  couple Carnatic Musicians stayed back to watch the show. What irked me was that there was a lot of to and fro movement in the front few (VIP and Premier seating) rows. The sound and light management wasn’t totally professional. The squeaking microphones at the beginning of the dance show could have very well been avoided. The show seems to have been sold out. The theatre was filled to its maximum capacity. I was also curious about the Malay security guard who came in for the dance recital and stood throughout near the door with his eyes fixed on the stage!

Filed under: Arts, Bharatanatyam, Bharathakalanjali, Bharathanatyam, Carnatic Music, Dance Gurus, Dhananjayan, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Male Bharathanatyam dancer, NRI, Rasika, Shanta, artists, choreography, dance festival, experiences, program, review , Soorya Festival

Music and Dance Season 2009-2010

I will consolidate all posts on the Madras dance and Music Season 2009-2010. For those of you who would like to know what it is like , “The Hindu” had brought out a curtain raiser on the upcoming “Chennai Music and Dance Season 2008″ (PDF version)
This includes an interview with Alarmel Valli. You can download the same at http://www.hindu.com/ms/index.htm

This Season’s Dance Award Winners are listed here

Thematic presentations and dance dramas that are scheduled to be presented for this season are listed here

Madras/Chennai Concerts*

Krishna Gana Sabha’s Natya kala Conference: that is an annual event during the season will be held at the sabha between December 26 and 31, 2009 .This years conference is convened by Ananda Shankar Jayant . The theme is “Dance Matters”.
contact e-mail: anandasj@rediffmail.com

Online Schedules/guides

• The dance concerts we get to know of will be added to our calendar which can be viewed in the middle column of the front page of this blog. I have added schedules from Narada Gana Sabha, Bramha Gana Sabha, Nungambakkam Cultural Academy, Bharat Kalachar, Sri Krishna gana sabha,  Kalakshetra and others (that I came to know o)f. All programs are subject to change.
• A new comprehensive website (http://www.thedecemberseason.com/home.php) has been launched to provide substantial information on schedules and location of concerts, andother related information like lodging and dining.
• Saigan’s Consolidated and updatedMargazhi Season Guide can be found here
• Visit http://artindia.net/madras09/index.html for a listing of  this season’s music and dance performances( Maintained by Sri. G.S. Rajan)
• Mr. Ramkumar’s blog regularly provides Madras Kutcheri  updates (including  the season concerts, esp. for carnatic music concerts)

Updated Sabha/organization Websites

• Madras Music Academy- http://www.musicacademymadras.in/home.php (schedules updated for this year)
• Bharat Kalachar- http://www.bharatkalachar.com/twentythirdmahotsav.html (schedules updated for this year)
• Vani Mahal-http://www.vanimahal.com/isai_iyal_vizha.php (schedules updated for this year)

Tickets Reservation for NRI:
Kartik Fine Arts: NRIs who want to attend the December season concerts can e-mail the sabha Secretary and reserve tickets. Reservation queries must be sent in October. Such people will get preference in issue of tickets. (subject to availability)

KARTIK FINE ARTS[Regd]Registered office address:
New No.16, old no.39,
Bheemana Garden St,
Abhiramapuram,
Chennai- 600018,
Ph:91-44- 24997788.

Administration Office address:
2,Sringeri Mutt Road,
Chennai,
Ph:91-44- 2495 2695.
E.Mail :kartikfinearts@vsnl.net  http://www.kartikfineartschennai18.com/

Swathi Sangeethotsavam is an annual classical music festival celebrated in honour of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma (1813 – 1846) the  poet king of the Travancore dynasty. This seven day festival is held annually from January 6 to 12 at the ‘Kuthira Malika’ palace at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India where the king himself composed many of his musical gems.This could be a fantastic add- on to your season pilgrimage.Prince Rama Varma who organizes this music festival extends a warm welcome to all music lovers. These amazing concerts are entirely free . The schedule of Jan 2010 festival is as follows:-

Jan 6  Sanjay Subrahmanyan
Jan 7  Balasai (Flute)
Jan 8 Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna
Jan 9 Varma
Jan 10 Mavelikara P.Subramaniam
Jan 11 Pandit Venkateshkumar (Hindusthani)
Jan12 Seetha Rajan

For more details on this festival visit http://www.aparnaonline.com/princerama.html

Sharing your Schedules

Please feel free to share your performance schedules, reviews and other related info here. Leave it as a comment and I will work on getting it published. Events will be added to our  Event calendar .

Source of Info: Personal emails, Music and Dance Websites, Brochures, Mgazines etc.

*-Please verify program schedules  with newspapers/sabha  as they may be subject to changes

Filed under: A.Lakshman, Anita Ratnam, Anitha Guha, Arts, Bharat Kalachar, Bharatanatyam, Bharathakalanjali, Bharathanatyam, Carnatic Music, Chennai, Chitra Visweswaran, Dance, Dance Gurus, December season., Dhananjayan, Gayathri Balagurunathan, India, Kalakshetra, Kartik Fine Arts, Kavita ramu, Kerala, Krishna Gana Sabha, Madras, Madras Music Academy, Madras Music Season, Madras dance Festival, Male Bharathanatyam dancer, Padma Subrahmanyam, Padma.S. Raghavan, Performing Arts, Prince Rama Varma, Priyadarshini Govind, Rajeswari Sainath, Rasika, Shanta, Sheejith Krishna, Shijith Nambiar, Shobana, Sreekala Bharath, Sri Krishna Gana sabha, Urmila Satyanarayanan, Vijayanthimala Bali, artists, awards, choreograhers, choreography, dance drama, dance festival, experiences, learning, leela samson, program, students, upcoming artist , Ananda Shankar Jayant, December, Kuthiramalika 2010, Natya kala Conference, Pooja Kumar, Season, Swathi Sangeethotsavam, Vani Mahal

Melattur Bhagavatha Mela 2009

Melattur Bhagavatha Mela 2009 will be held between the 22nd and 30th of May.

To know more about Melattur Bhagavatha Mela read earlier post at http://sangeethas.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/melattur-bhagavatha-mela/

Following are the details of the festival.

Venue: Melattur, Tamil Nadu, India  (map)

FESTIVAL SCHEDULEMay 22:
7.30pm: Mangala Isai, Nadaswara by Thirukarugavoor Brothers-TK Ramanan and TK Saravanan
9pm: Inauguration of the Mahotsav
9.30pm: Bhagavata Mela natakam PRAHLADA CHARITRAM

May 23:
7.30pm: Bharatanatyam by Matangi Ravishankar (disciple of KJ Sarasa)
9pm: Bharatanatyam by Swarnamalya Ganesh (disciple of KJ Sarasa)

May 24:
8pm: Select scenes from Bhagavata Mela natakam PRAHLADA CHARITRAM recreated as they were performed a century ago

May 25:
9.30pm: Bhagavata Mela natakam HARISCHANDRA Part 1

May 26:
9.30pm: Bhagavata Mela natakam HARISCHANDRA Part 2

May 27:
7.30pm: Bharatanatyam by students of Sri Purandari Natya Palli, Trichy
8.45pm: Bharatanatyam by Sumana Sen, Divya Shankar, Chikao Sato (disciples of Melattur Srikanth)

May 28:
9.30pm: Bhagavata Mela natakam KAMSA VADHAM

May 29:
9.30pm: Tamil opera VALLI THIRUMANAM in Bhagavata Mela style.

May 30:
6.30pm: Sri Anjaneya Aradhana and Utsav, concluding rituals. SRI PANDURANGA LEELAI by Cuddalore Gopi Bhagavatar and troupe.Procession of deity Sri Narasimha with His consorts.

Contact Details:
Sri. S Natarajan
President & Chairman
63-64, South Street
Melattur 614301
Thanjavur Dist
Tamilnadu
India

Ph: (04374) – 273445

E-mail: bhagavatamela@gmail.com

Source:http://rechitanruthyalaya.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/bhagavata-mela-nataka-mahotsav-2009/

Filed under: Arts, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Carnatic Music, Dance, History of Bharathanatyam, India, Male Bharathanatyam dancer, Performing Arts, Thanjavur, artists, choreography, dance drama, dance festival, experiences, program, promotion , Vijay Madhavan

Natyanjali 2009

The annual dance festivals held in temples to coincide with the festival of Shivaratri are coming up. Shivarathri this year falls on Feb 23rd, 2009.

Dance fest in Thanjavur The Brahan Natyanjali Foundation, Thanjavur is organising a Seven Day Dance Festival – Brahan Natyanjali 2009 from feb. 23 to March 1 at the World Heritage Centre, Thanjavur Big Temple starting with Mahashivarathiri Day (i.e.) Feb. 23. To participate in the festival and for details contact Phone 098424-55765 or 04362 -238235. Email id is bnfoundation@rediffmail.com

Natyanjali at Chidambaram Chidambaram is special. This is where the dancers were invited to the temple precincts to perform a little over 25 years ago. Then, the 1000-pillared sabha in this temple was the stunning stage for the artistes. Now, this structure has been protected and the dance fest is held in the eastern outer courtyard of the temple dedicated to Lord Nataraja. The annual fest is hosted by the members of the Natyanjali Trust – a cheerful, low profile band of people who do a great job as managers of the event. The festival will begin from Feb. 23 evening. The recitals go on past midnight on Shivaratri day and end up the next morning! The Natyanjali Trust which hosts the event proposes to present lots of up and coming dancers this time around. For more details contact phone no. 04144 – 222732

Natyanjali at Kumbakonam The annual Natyanjali dance fest at the Sri Kumbeswarar Temple in Kumbakonam will be held on Feb.21 to 24. Dance programmes will be held from 6pm to 12midnight on Feb. 23. The fest is held in the courtyard of this temple and starts at about 6pm on Feb 21, 22, 23 and 24. For details, contact Natyanjali Trust Kunbakonam, Moopanar Bungalow, Dr. Besant Road, Kumbakonam. E-mail : natyanjalikmu@yahoo.co.in. Phone : 0435 – 2442396

Online Live Video Coverage (webcast)

Kutcheribuzz will bring us a live video coverage of the Natyanjali 2009.  This will be a disappointment for dial up userd becasue to view this live coverage you will need a broadband Internet bandwidth of  minimum 128kbps   to view the video.

Dancers:

For  participating dancers who wish to webcast your  concert here is what Kutcherbuzz says (this service is not restricted to Natyanjali alone):-

Web Cast your Concerts
Kutcheribuzz now provides artistes an opportunity to get their videos broadcast worldwide.
This web site offers to host short videos online. They can be videos of arangetrams, dance recitals, festivals, dance features, music kutcheris. . .
But they should be not more than 20mins. in duration.

How do we go about doing this?

We can videograph excerpts of your concerts, edit the tape and webcast it for one month on www.kutcheribuzz.com. The fee is Rs.1200.

The other option – we can web cast a 20min video produced by you and run it for one month on www.kutcheribuzz.com. The fee is Rs.750.

If you want us to shoot and cover your festival / events, the fee is specific to the assignment. We will need to discuss it!

So please contact Ms. Bhanumathi on 91-44-24994599 / 24993767.

Viewing the Online Video:

Readers may view the natyanjali concerts at http://www.kutcheribuzz.com/Natyanjali2009/natyanjali09.htm

Source: http://www.kutcheribuzz.com/news/20090130/Natyanjali2009.asp

Filed under: Arts, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Dance, India, Natyanjali, Performing Arts, Rasika, Tamil, Thanjavur, Urmila Satyanarayanan, artists, dance festival, experiences, program, students, talent , Chidambaram, Kumbakonam, Shivarathri

Interesting read from The Hindu’s Dance/Music Season Coverage..

• Importance of the Orchestra that accompanies a dance recital..Murali Parthasarathy, Swamimalai K Suresh, Radha Badri and G. Vijayaraghavan tell us more about it at http://www.hindu.com/ms/2009/01/07/stories/2009010750010100.htm
• Double Impact: Two is company. Especially for some on whom the Margazhi spotlight has fallen over the years, be it in the field of music or dance. The Dhananjayans, the Reddys and Narasimhachari-Vasanthalakshmi have paved the way for many others to follow. The Margazhi Vizha has, over the years, thrown up some very talented pairs. Here are a few who have made a mark:  Read more at http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/01/02/stories/2009010250990400.htm
• A discussion on ‘Aesthetic Purpose of Bharatanatyam’ led by eminent music and dance scholar, Thanjavur B.M. Sundaram, with a panel of distinguished practitioners such as gurus Adyar Lakshman, Indira Rajan, Nandini Ramani and Jayanthi Subramaniam last Sunday, turned out to be a very lively and informative one. It was organised by Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha . http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/01/09/stories/2009010951200600.htm. Topics discusseed include:-
  • History of nomenclature of Bharathanatyam
  • Differentiating Theermanam and Jathi
  • Thanjavur Quartet-streamlined margam
  • Balamma’s style
  • Alarippu accompanied by Tirupugazh
  • Compering for a dance show (Interesting points here)
  •  Ancedotes on Pandanallur Jayalakshmi and Shanmuga Vadivu

Filed under: Bharatanatyam, Bharathakalanjali, Bharathanatyam, Chennai, Dance, Dance Gurus, December season., Dhananjayan, India, Kalakshetra, Madras, Madras Music Season, Madras dance Festival, Male Bharathanatyam dancer, Performing Arts, Shanta, artists, choreograhers, choreography, dance festival, do's and don'ts for dancers, experiences, talent, upcoming artist , Anuradha, Anusha, Narasimhachari, Narendrakumar, Parvathy, sridhar, Srikanth, Vasanthalakshmi

Tapas academy hosts free Music and Dance programs

CHENNAI, December 25: TAPAS – The Academy and Yuvakeerthana will celebrate ‘Sangeethotsavam 2009′, an annual festival of  music and dance, from January 2, 2009. The festival will last till January 7.  The festival will be held at Valasaravakkam.
This time around, TAPAS – The Academy will confer the “Shri Vidhya Tapasvi” award on vocalist Neyveli Santhanagopalan for his  service towards bhakthi-oriented traditional music. The award will be presented to him on January 7 at a function presided by Mr. P.S. Saminathan, Chairman, Pyramid Saimira Group, and Mr. Narayana Vishwanath, Chief Editor, Sarigamapadani, and Honourable Member (Programmes),  South Zone Cultural Centre,  Governtmen Of India.
 
The aforesaid programmes would be held at Kalyani Kalyana Mandapam, Radhakrishnan Road, Opposite HDFC Bank, Valasaravakkam, Chennai 600087. For details, contact: 9841723930/31/32.
 
Or
Ashwin Kumar Iyer, Director, TAPAS – The Academy
Convenor, Sangeethotsavam 2009.
Mobile Phone: 9841723930
 
Free season passes will be available from December 26 at the following outlets: ANN Hospital , Valasaravakkam: Rakshit Hospital, Valasaravakkam; Naihaa, Valasaravakkam; Hotel Green Park , Vadapalani; Dominos Pizza, Alwarthirunagar; Sri Kris hna Sweets, Vadapalani; Mega Mart, Alwarthirunagar; and TAPAS Academy, Valasaravakkam.

The scheduel for the week-long music festival is given below:
 
02/01/09 – Friday

5 .00 – 6.15 PM
 
Kumari. Krithika Kumar (Bharathanatyam recital),
Disciple of Smt. Rajashri Vasudevan
6.30– 8.30 PM
Compositions of Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna
Srimathi. PADMA GOVARDHAN ( New Zealand ) – Vocal
 
03/01/09 – Saturday
5 .00 – 6.15 PM
Kumari. Vidya – Bharathanatyam recital
Disciple of Smt. Gayathri Balagurunathan
6.30– 8.30 PM
Panchakshara Prayoham –Raga compositions with 5 Swaraksharas
Dr. M. LALITHA & Kumari.M. NANDINI – Violin
 
04/01/09 – Sunday
5 .00 – 6.15 PM
Kumari. Shalini – Bharathanatyam recital
Disciple of Smt. Shyamala Balan
6.30– 8.30 PM
Thillaikeedillai – Compositions on Thillayambala Nataraja Swami
Dr. GANESH – Vocal
 
05/01/09 – Monday
5 .00 – 6.15 PM
K. Sairam and K. Sai Shruthi – Bharathanatyam recital
Disciple of Smt. Mahalakshmi
6.30– 8.30 PM
Swathi Thirunal Krithis
Sri. K.M BALAMURALIKRISHNA – Vocal
 
06/01/09 – Tuesday
5 .00 – 6.15 PM
Dr. Geetha Kasturi – Bharathanatyam recital
Disciple of Guru K. J. Sarasa
6.30– 8.30 PM
Krishnaarnavam – Divine Glory Of  Shri. Kris hna
Kumari. BHAVATHARINI – Vocal
 
07/01/09 – Wednesday
5 .00 – 6.15 PM
Disciples of Rukmini Devi Natyaksetra Foundation – Bharathanatyam recital
6.30– 8.30 PM
Shri Gurubhyo Namaha – Compositions On PujyaSri Sri Mahapaeriyaval
Neyveli Sri. SANTHANAGOPALAN – Vocal

 

Source: Mr. K.T. Jagannathan (http://www.carnaticdarbar.com/)

Filed under: Arts, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Carnatic Music, Chennai, Dance, December season., Madras, Madras Music Season, Madras dance Festival, Performing Arts, Rasika, artists, awards, dance festival, program, promotion

Lakshmi Viswanathan’s book release

Chronicling a lost heritage

Lakshmi Viswanathan’s book on the devadasis captures the spirit of a bygone era .

The very title is evocative — “Women of Pride-The Devadasi Heritage”. Dance artiste and choreographer Lakshmi Viswanathan’s book on the devadasi heritage is based on years of research disguised as an easy read.

“I want to make this information accessible to every one, not just to academics or the dance community,” she smiles. “The lay reader may be surprised by some of this information, with details about devadasi participation in court life, the extraordinary status they enjoyed, and their philanthropy. There were nationalists and freedom fighters too among them, who wore only khadi.”

Read the full article from The Hindu here

Thanks to Mr. K.T.J. who identified the article for us.

Filed under: Arts, Bharathanatyam, Chennai, Dance, Dance Gurus, December season., History of Bharathanatyam, India, Literature, Madras, Performing Arts, Rasika, Tamil, Thanjavur, artists, books, choreography, dance festival, experiences, learning , devadasi, Lakshmi Viswanathan

Tenth annual performance of Kaisiki Natakam- Vaishnavism

The tenth revival performance of the all night ritual theatre tradition KAISIKI NATAKAM will take place on December 9, 2008 at Tirukurungudi, Tamilnadu .

The sacred environs of the AZAGIYA NAMBI temple at Tirukurungudi will reverberate with this historic performance that was revived after more than 50 years of decay and neglect.  The story of the low born devotee Nambudevan and his single minded devotion to Lord Vishnu as Nambi, resonates with the same passion as Nandanar in Chidambaram. The interception of the demon and his subsequent surrender at the feet of this true devotee is the legend of Kaisiki Natakam which takes its title from the ancient Ragam (Pann) of the music score. 
  
Over the past twelve years, Anita Ratnam has been heading the team that began the revival efforts. The journey has been long and fraught with many challenges. Still ahead lie more bridges to cross but the annual performance has revived crowds to this magnificent shrine and international music and theatre directors have visited to document this unique ritual theatre form.  
 Tirukurungudi temple is near Eruvadi, Tamilnadu – 30 minutes drive south of Tirunelveli. 
  
Time of performance is 10pm onwards on December 9. Duration is for about 4 hours into the early hours of December 10. 
  
ARAYER SEVAIwill be performed by the priests of Sri Villiputtur temple around 4am on December 10. 
  
ALL ARE WELCOME 
  

Contact:  
Anita Ratnam: arangham@gmail.com  
www.arangham.com 

To Read the complete story visit Narthaki at http://www.narthaki.com/info/prv08/prv194.html

The Arangham website’s ritual and revival has been updated

To read more about the revival of Kaisiki Natkamvisit Arangham here

To Learn more about the Arayar Sevai Visit Arangham here

Filed under: Anita Ratnam, Arts, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Dance, History of Bharathanatyam, India, Introduction, Literature, Performing Arts, Rasika, Tamil, artists, choreography, dance festival, learning, program, promotion , Arayar Sevai, Kaisiki Natakam, Vaishnavism

Lec-Dem of interest to dancers

Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha Music education series has some fantastic lec dems lined up during Dec.16 2008 to Jan 3 , 2009

Here are a few lecture demonstrations that may be of interest to dancers…

18 Dec. 2008, Theme for Bharatanatyam- Thirukkural to Puthukavithai, by Smt. Sujatha Vijayaraghavan, at Vidya Bharathi,55, Bheemasena Garden Road, Mylaopre, Chennai 4, Ph 2499 1248, 8.30-9.30am

20 Dec 2008, Rasanai ennum Yogam, By Neyveli Sri. Santhanagopalan, at Vidya Bharathi,55, Bheemasena Garden Road, Mylaopre, Chennai 4, Ph 2499 1248, 8.30-9.30am

22 Dec, 2008, Tamil Compositions in sangeetha Sampradaya pradarshini by Dr. R.s. Jayalakshmi,at Vidya Bharathi,55, Bheemasena Garden Road, Mylaopre, Chennai 4, Ph 2499 1248, 8.30-9.30am

29 Dec 2008,

Tillana and its special features, Dr. M.B. vedavalli, at Vidya Bharathi,55, Bheemasena Garden Road, Mylaopre, Chennai 4, Ph 2499 1248, 8.30-9.30am

Lecture by Dr S Raghuraman on  ‘Dravidaththil Taai deiva vazhipaadu’ (worship of mother goddess in Tamil culture). Demonstration by Lakshmi Ramaswamy and her students for Katik Fine Arts at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

31 Dec, 2008, Compositions on Godess lakshmi by various composers by Dr. V.V. srivatsava at Vidya Bharathi,55, Bheemasena Garden Road, Mylaopre, Chennai 4, Ph 2499 1248, 8.30-9.30am

All /Most of them are free

Dec 17-Dec 23, 2008

The annual Natya Kala Conference of Sri Krishna Gana Sabha will commence on December 17. The conference will continue till December 23. This time around, the theme of the conference is: “Ramayana in Performing Arts”. Dancer Ananda Shankar Jayant will be the convenor of the conference. 3/4 presentations looking at  the Epic’s various aspects/angles are lined up per day. The timing being 9.30am to around 1 pm on all these days.

For schedules and topics  visit Carnatic Darbar click here

Narthaki’s coverage of the Natyakala conference- click here

Filed under: Arts, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Carnatic Music, Chennai, Conference, Dance, December season., India, Madras, Madras Music Season, Madras dance Festival, Performing Arts, Rasika, Tamil, Workshops, artists, choreograhers, dance festival, do's and don'ts for dancers, experiences, learning, program, students , lec-dem, Natyakala Conference, Sri Krishna Gana sabha, Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha