BN & WWW Completes 2 years!

Yet another year has passed since BN & WWW came into existence. I have absolutely enjoyed this journey. It continues to be a learning experience I should say. The stat counter last year stood at  65,169 and reads 152,086 hits today!

 The top 10 posts in the period between Nov. 2008 and Nov 2009 were as follows:-

Madras(Chennai) Music and Dance Season (2008-2009)

Aharya Abhinayam-

Differentiate Between A Varnam, Padam And Shapdam

Music and Dance Season 2009-2010

Natyanjali 2009

Making an aesthetic statement with dance costumes

Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana Bharathanatyam competition

A brief chat with Pooja Kumar

World Dance Festival In Japan

An anonymous letter to young dancers and their parents

Now for a vote of thanks!

This year, the blog introduced me to two great friends Ms. Soumya Tilak and Mr. Madhana Raghavan both graduate students at USA. They are a great support and pitch in despite their rigorous schedules. Thank you both! Thanks to all the artistes who share information, friends who identify topics, patiently proof read and do odd tasks at all/odd times.I am grateful to everyone listed in the “Support” page. I absolutely enjoy the lively chat sessions with a few friends which ensures a continuous stream of ideas/topics for discussion. Thanks to all readers and  for all those comments. Some of these comments and emails, despite by request not getting to see the light of the front end of the blog, have provided hours of fun. Keep it coming readers!

I would be failing miserably if I forgot to say “Thanks” to wordpress. But I sincerely wish that they let us embed the google calendar though! I wish to express my gratitude to my son and husband for their tolerance.

I am looking forward to the next year already. With my academic commitments maintaining the blog is becoming harder by the minute, but I am sure we will find a way. Don’t you think so too?

Filed under: Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Carnatic Music, Rasika, artists, experiences , blog, BN & WWW

Music in and For Bharathanatyam- A Survey report- Part 3

Continued from

• Part 1
• Part 2

Carnatic Music Aptitude and/or Knowldege for dancers

An overall agreement that an aptitude or knowledge of carnatic music in the dancer helps him/her excel in Bharathanatyam, is seen from the survey responses; with the scores from within India being slightly higher in this regard. Similarly the musicians placed a higher emphasis on the need for CM knowledge/aptitude in dancers.

On how exactly Carnatic Music helps dancers improve, the general feeling can be best expressed in the words of Manjari :-

“It certainly is a big plus if the dancer understands and appreciates music, it adds much more depth to their dancing”.

It is felt that an understanding of the thala, lyrics and the flavour of the raga improve the nritta and abinaya aspects of the dance .

“Attending concerts exposes them to a variety of songs which can be included in their repertoire.”- Hamsa Venkat

Music as a requirement for choreography

However, the open-end answers, reveal that the depth of knowledge acceptable/considered essential in itself is dictated by what the dance student/dancer aims to be. Lakshmi Ramasamy referring to those who want to be professional performers says “Dancer should have a good idea of music, if not professionally sing”. “Choreographing and composing call for a higher understanding of the ragas and rhythm structures. (Anupriya Krishnan and Kavitha Ramu) as the dance should reflect the flow of the music (Soumya Tilak)”

“I don’t want a dancer to be jumping around vigorously in a slow Neelambari composition. It just affects my sensibilities” says S. Srinivasan.

If the teacher/choreographer or the dancer also is the one who decides the item list, then an awareness of which ragas should and should not be placed in proximity will go a long way in making the total performance a success. For e.g.,  Keeravani Jathiswaram followed by Simendramadhyamam item is a strict no-no!

Singing abilities for the Teacher/Nattuvanar

Yesteryear nattuvanars were excellent musicians. If the teacher intends to choreograph items for her students, then as seen from above deliberations, would definitely need to be aware of the technical nuances of Carnatic music . Also if the teacher is the one singing during the class, an appropriate standard of singing will go a long way in developing an appreciation of music itself and transalate itself as spontaneous reaction to music at subconscious levels.

A rasika, who accompanied her niece to a few dance class sessions said that

“I really don’t understand how the teacher whose singing (that she heard from the verandah outside) didn’t confine the tune to one recognisable ragam could expect her students to attain a good standard! The music appreciation of the students should be inculcated way before it is practically possible for them to practise with musicians.”

Even if the musician has all the attributes necessary it may still call for precise communication of the necessities by the nattuvanar to elicit the perfect match for the choreography- it is his vision that is being presented after all. But to communicate perfectly to the musician, the nattuvanar/ teacher/ choreographer needs to have a musical vocabulary. Bombay Jayasri says that Leela Samson knew exactly what she needed and communicated it precisely to help her give her best.

In a nutshell as Anupriya says “Dancers in India grow up in an environment where they are constantly exposed to classical music and dance. Media plays a very vital role. Unfortunately, (in some places), other than class time and practice time, students rarely get to see or hear good music and dance. Learning CN music along with BN has its own perks. Ragam & Talam gyanam is far better for those who know CN music. As a dancer, I enjoy and relate much better to a dance because of my CN background. Choreography and teaching become a natural thing for a dancer who is well versed with CN music. So CN is imperative for BN.”

The stalwarts of Bharathanatym did and do find a  “Pakka balam*” in the “Pakka vadyam*” (*Soumya quoting Smt. Chitra Visweswaran) with their aptitude and appreciation of music. So there is no escaping the fact, that to be a complete dancer, one should work hard on developing an aptitude for carnatic music (if it isn’t there yet).

CD as a replacement for live orchestra.

This is one question to which the rasikas, musicians and the dancers varied predictably and widely in their response. The rasikas quite disagree with the trend (an avg score of 3.1) while the dancers seem to embrace the concept (an avg score of 7.1). Various articles have discussed the difficulties of dancers in putting together a good orchestra. The problems range from lack of availability, to lack of co-operation, high costs and fee of the members of the orchestra and practical problems in travelling with a orchestra. These probably are the reasons for dancers being more willing to use professional CDs today.  But most rasikas and a few dancers favour it ”only as a last resort”.Musician Rama varma says “Better to use a good CD than a bad live musician!”

A definite distinction is to be made at this juncture between the ready-made commercial one-size fits all CDs and the individualized CDs that are specially recorded in a studio for a particular dancer/ choreography. These sure are expensive.  Hamsa Venkat, a dancer carefully adds,” As long as the CD has been recorded professionally for you “(it may be alright).Echoing this sentiment Passionate Dancer says “For many, it’s a means of survival, when finding a good orchestra is not possible. As long as it is professionally recorded music and if the dancer is able to use the recording to her advantage and give a good presentation it is fine.The ones off the shelf may not suit your needs most of the time, is alright for beginners.”

Our cheeky rasika  narrates her woes-

“I am tired of hearing the same professional CD Natesa kavutuvam, I can even sing along with it now! Well many gurus where I live seem to have learnt the kavutuvam from the same VCD too, so all their students perform similarly to the same song. Nothing original about it, leave alone the surprise element! Thankfully the power never fails in our place!”

And dancer/teacher Anupriya Krishnan says “I will never be able to relate to a 2 hour recital if there is no live music. But if it is a 5 -10 min program, I guess I will survive ”

United we Stand a better Chance?

“Music is dance and dance is music. And the one without the other would never be complete.” (Rama Varma). Carnatic Music and Bharathanatyam are not mutually independent sets. If the quality of music in dance recitals is appreciable, probably more music rasikas would consider attending dance concerts.  Dance rasikas who begin to develop a taste for Carnatic Music aided by the good music that they get to hear from the dance orchestra, may actually consider attending music concerts!

Acknowledgements

I wish to express my gratitude to Aishwarya Anantha, Anupriya Krishnan, Bhanu Krishnan, Binal Vyas, Devi Ravi, Hamsa venkat, Jayakamala Pandian, Kavitha Ramu, Lakshmi Ramasamy, Madhana Raghavan, Manjari Rajendrakumar (nee Chandrasekar), Navia Natarajan Menon, Nrithya Pillai, Padma Balakumar, Rama Varma, R. Rajendrakumar, Santosh Kumar Menon, Shantha Somasundaram, S. Srinivasan,  Soumya Tilak, Suganthi.P, Sumi Krishnan, Umaa Sathyanarayanan and those who came up with interesting pseudonyms (Passionate dancer, Music of Hearts, Eternal student of the art of Bharatanatyam) and a few others who wished to remain anonymous who took the time to fill in their survey questionnaire and/or discuss their opinion on this topic with me. I am grateful to the 3 of you who proof read the questionnaire. I am also thankful to Sumi Krishnan of http://sydhwaney.com for helping me with the data collection. I also absolutely am indepted to Madhana Raghavan, Sowmya Tilak and Rajendra Kumar for graciously accepting to proof (and to have) read this mess!

Filed under: Abhinaya, Arts, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Carnatic Music, Dance, Dance Gurus, India, Performing Arts, Rasika, academics, artists, choreograhers, choreography, do's and don'ts for dancers, experiences, learning, students , Soumya Tilak

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

What’s apt in Bharathanatyam ?

Soumya Tilak identified some interesting articles from Narthaki. Reading them is sure to make one think about a lot of associated issues.

This post deals with the article titled “Dance writing “ by Lalitha Venkat, Chennai.  Narthaki.com conducted a week long dance writing workshop in July 2009. While speaking at this workshop conducted at the dance department of the MGR Janaki College, Leela Venkatraman who has now been  into dance writing for around 4 decades discusses a few  points that are aimed at helping upcoming dance writers find a right voice. The article can be found at http://www.narthaki.com/info/articles/art254.html

Leela also discusses about reviewing art that potrays / is inspired from one’s personal tragedy/experience. She talks of a creation by Canada based Bharathanatyam dancer and choreographer Lata Pada, who lost her husband and two daughters to the 1985 terrorist bombing of Air India flight Kanishka.

“Revealed by fire” according to Samparadaya’s website, (Lata’s dance company) is described as follows “A contemporary multimedia dance work featuring the story of a woman’s journey of tragedy and transformation, Revealed by Fire charts Lata Pada’s rediscovery of individual power and voice following the loss of her husband and two daughters to a terrorist bombing.  Ms. Pada and renowned visual designer Cylla von Tiedemann forge new frontiers for dance and moving images. It’s regarded by leading critic Michael Crabb as “the most important Canadian dance production of 2001”.

 “Dancer Lata Pada’s guru objected to her ‘Revealed by Fire’ being a personal trauma put on stage. Watching shows evolved out of personal experiences, some comment that it amounts to self indulgence and they did not come to see a highlighting of someone’s personal tragedy. While some identify many elements from a work as reflected in their own lives, others feel the artiste is trying to project herself as a tragedy queen. If a dancer brings in elements like Sita and tries to find a parallel, it would give the implication of trying to find legitimacy for the work.” Leela Venkatraman recalls.

Here is an excerpt of the production from the You Tube

Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/seraphaj

There are also other themes which elicit strong emotions in the viewers.

For eg. Here is a Video excerpt of a production titled “Play ball” by London based Nina Rajarani’s Srishti Dance Company.

It is in fact quite common for art from other cultures to be shaped by the artist’s experience, environment and emotions. Is Bharathanatyam accepted to be a vehicle of self expression by all quarters? Bharathanatyam has moved out of its portals, so isnt it inevitable that it will mutate ? The issue is not only about the physical aspects of choreography abiding to what is technically admissible within a Bharathanatyam format; it is also about those themes that are considered as befitting the art form. While the “purists” are worried about maintain the integrity of the art form, a few practitioners and connoisseurs are worried about maintaining or expanding the audience base. But more importantly there is also a section of the audience out there that is happy when the line between Bharathanatyam and Bollywood becomes thin enough to let them relate to what is being presented. 

Bharathanatyam today encompasses a wide variety of presentations. So, it suggests there does exist, a market for all kinds of Bharathanatyam. It is upto us to pick and choose what we are looking for, and we will learn to fit our wants with practice. There’s no point cribbing about the show we attended over the weekend. There are others who liked the same. So give the artiste a miss the next time, try somewhere else!

Filed under: Arts, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Canada, Chennai, Institutes, Rasika, UK, artists, choreograhers, choreography, experiences, review

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

K.J. Sarasa’s explores the link between dancers socio-economic status and their professional success

Here is a video identified by Mr. Madhana Raghavan.

It’s a very interesting one wherre  Guru K.J.Sarasa talks about the past and existing factors that contributes to a dancer succeding professionally. She answers the question “Is it hard for a Middle class dancer to succed today?” in her inimitable style.

URL:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_4UqCZFpRE

Credits: You Tube User:http://www.youtube.com/user/arulramiah

Filed under: Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Chennai, Dance, Dance Gurus, India, Performing Arts, choreograhers, experiences, k.J. Sarasa, students

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

A Poised Performance by “Shrishti – The Creation” on March 7th

The following review and image is  contributed by Soumya Tilak…

The Fine Arts Association of Arizona and Sampradaya Dance of India ( a dance institute in Phoenix) came together with other sponsoring associations to present Krishna Bhakthi Mala, a thematic dance presentation by the group Shrishti – The Creation, on Saturday March 7th, 2009. The image below is the flyer for the presentation.

While the overall performance was graceful and inspiring, I feel the dance could have been a bit more vibrant and should have been exploding with energy. Group dances are always expected to be colorful and a treat to the eyes, and the dancers did justice through their perfect co-ordination, colorful costumes and colorful lighting and stage decorations – indeed a treat to the eyes. However, the theme could have been conveyed in a more convincing manner. I felt the performance was rendered at the surface level, when it could have delved a bit deeper. The theme chosen, Krishna Bhakthi Mala, revolves around Krishna – the tiny tot of Yashoda, the hearthrob of the Gopikas, the consort of Radha, the slayer of Kalinga the Serpant, the protector of Panchali, and so on.

The dancers opened with a Mallari followed by an invocatory piece – Gaaiye Ganapathi. The dancers performed the mallari gracefully, though it could have been a bit more energetic, and being the opening item, it could have contained more brisk movements that would have kept the audience in rapture. The dancers depicted the story of the elephant head of Lord Ganesha, in the sanchari of Gaaiye Ganapathi. The team could have researched more into the meaning of the words in the song. There was one instance where the dancers gestured the face of Lord Ganapathi, when the lyric was “Vinayaka”. Vinayaka means the one who has no leader or master above him. Clearly, the dancers’ expression and the lyrics didnt match there. They should have probably worked more on getting their gestures right for the right words. The next item was a Jugalbhandi, that was elegantly rendered with apt costumes – one team wore skirts and the other team wore pants, or pyjamas. The choreography matched the music as well as the costumes. One major plus point in the entire performance was the dancers’ attention to their positions. Each formation was neatly executed, leaving no scope for the audience to be confused – something very critical to a group performance. Exceptional sense of position. The varnam, which was perfomed next, was tuned to Ragamalika, with Hindi lyrics. Varnam means color. Of course, the varnam truly was colorful – but colorful more materialistically than holistically; but that’s what I felt. There were colorful costumes and colorful lights. But there wasn’t much color in the expressions, where there could have been more. The sanchari of Krishna playing with the Gopis and Krishna eating mud and showing the entire universe in his mouth to Yashoda were nice, but maybe, they could have been a bit more dramatic.

The main thematic presentation, Krishna Bhakthi Mala, did not start until the second half. Here, several episodes from Krishna’s life – from the birth of Krishna, to the Kalinga Nardhanam, to the Panchali Vastraharan were depicted. A notable aspect of this presentation was the display of apt pictures of Krishna in the background as slides as the presentation went on. I felt the depiction of Kalinga Nardhanam lacked the power and aggression it deserved. Of course, the dancer who assumed the role of Kalinga, amused the audience by snaky gimmicks; no pun intended! But, it was a weak and vulnerable Kalinga, totally opposite to the strong and egotistical personality of his! The duel between Krishna and Kalinga was not that powerful, it lacked vigor. It was only graceful; but here, I don’t think grace is the right element to be used. The Panchali Vastraharan could also have been more dramatized. Dramatization is a very important element of dance – especially in a thematic presentation such as this.

I noticed that there were redundancies in the performance – Krishna being born out of Devaki’s womb, and being brought up under Yashoda’s care were repeated both in the varnam and in the main presentation. This could have been avoided, and instead they could have shown other episodes from Krishna’s life – maybe the friendship between Sudhama and Krishna? or the Govardhana Giridhara episode?

On the whole, it was a nice and poised performance, but I feel it could have been much better. The songs selected were apt, and showed that the dancers put in a lot of care while selecting songs. Enna thavam seidhanai Yashoda, a very popular padam by Papanasam Sri. Sivam in Ragam Kapi, set to Adi Thalam was one of the songs in the Krishna Bhakti Mala medley. One of Purandaradasa’s compositions in Ragam Arabhi, Aadithano Ranga, which is on the Kalinga Nardhanam of Krishna, was also used. And the dancers did justice by performing without any mistakes, but they failed to produce the vibrations to touch our souls, with the exception of a few dancers. The dancers could have contributed more from within than with just coordinated movements. I feel they had a very nice theme, a very popular theme, and they had very good songs, appropriate props, and costumes too, but maybe they could have exploited all that to the fullest capacity.

The idea of having a few dancers demonstrate a summary of the next item to come is really good, and very necessary for a foreign audience. That way, the audience can follow through the performance.

Several dancers all around the world do presentations based on Krishna Bhakti. I believe each dancer or choreographer, should demonstrate their individuality, their strong points, in their presentations, and these presentations should enunciate their thoughts, opinions, or interpretations. Krishna Bhakti could be interpreted in so many ways. Bhakti itself can be interpreted in several ways. And how you interpret Bhakti toward Krishna, and how you demonstrate your interpretation is what makes you unique from others. Dance is a medium to communicate wih the audience, yes, but it is also a medium through which you communicate with yourself, you seek the Paramaathma within yourself. Dance is an experience – your experience in the journey toward the soul. So, perhaps the dancers could have gone that extra mile to put their mark or signature to their performance, to make it a unique experience for the audience. I might have not seen all the performances in the world, but I have seen enough to understand why some performances are an experience, and why some are just concerts.

Note: This post is based on a post on my own blog.

Filed under: Bharatanatyam, Dance, Rasika, USA, choreography, experiences, program, review

Rasa Unmasked by Sutra Dance Theatre

“Rasa Unmasked- Wisdom of India, Invoked and Savoured”

“Rasa Unmasked is a new dance work touring Australia and South-East Asia in March and April 2009. It is a sensuous, vibrant performance and the result of a remarkable collaboration, between:

Rasa Unmasked is a sensuous, contemporary dance work that sheds new light on India’s most vital aesthetic theory. The performance premieres in March in Sydney, Australia – before an international tour to Malaysia, Singapore and India.

Rasa Unmasked is the result of a collaboration between Anandavalli & Australia’s Lingalayam Dance Company, Ramli Ibrahim & Malaysia’s Sutra Dance Theatre and ethnomusicologist / composer, Alex Dea – all pioneers of classical art forms in contemporary contexts.

It is a stunning collaboration, seducing Malaysian dance doyen, Ramli, back to Australian shores after more than 25 years, since his time as dancer and choreographer at the Sydney Dance Company.”, says their Media Publicity pages

To watch a video

Find more videos like this on All Around You

Event Calendar

The Australia shows have concluded

Malaysia
KL :April 7th -12th:  Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, KLPac Website
Penang April 15th: Dewan Sri Penang, Penang, Penang Show Website

Singapore
April 19th: Theatre Studio, The Esplanade
India
April 22nd: Chowdiah Hall, Bangalore,
April 25th: Chinmaya Heritage Centre, Chennai
April 28th: Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi

For more details, reviews and to buy tickets visit: http://rasaunmasked.wordpress.com/media-release/

Rasikas vote (watched it- pl vote)

Filed under: Australia, Bangalore, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Chennai, Dance, India, Introduction, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Madras, Malaysia, Male Bharathanatyam dancer, Performing Arts, South Asian Dance, artists, choreograhers, choreography, contemporary, dance drama, experiences, program, promotion , Delhi, Ramli Ibrahim, Sutra Dance Theatre

Orchestrated troubles…

A prominent dancer is getting ready for her program at a dance festival. The vocalist calls in saying she wont be able to make it “Family problems!!!”  The stunned dancer recovers and finds a student with whom she has to make do.

At this place, there are no violinists, the violinist is flown in from neighboring Country (Parents pay for the airfare and the fee). The lonesome Mridangist is supposed to make good the occasion!!! That escalated the arangetram costs people pronounce..

“Are we any less than the Silicon Valley fellows?” Why shouldn’t we expect a good pay?, questions a musician…

Why not CD?

Anitam Ratnam uses them! “High quality CD’s are way better than  “sumar” singing says a teen. A middle aged traditionalist says,” cha what is a dance program without live music”

I ask a talented dancer if the mallari wouldnt look a tad more refined if it was sung at a slighlty slower tempo..

“Akka, it was a commercial recording, they put in as many as possible for economic factors. If I made one to my own choreography a margam would cost me Rs. 30,000!” She sighs and adds who pays me for it though. This will do!

A student checks with her teacher if a commercial recording can be used for performance at school? Go ahead says the teacher, otherwise who would even think of buying those CD’s she quips. They look like Tollywood pieces she smirks because of the speed..

Current forums have suggested training/using upcoming carnatic musicians. One friend says, ” oh she flatly refused to sing for dance, dosent want to spoil her voice ! Even veterans are upset about their stint accompanying the dancers”

“My guru dosent give casettes easily and she dosent let me share them” sadly confesses a dancer to a friend afraid that would end their comradeship.

Well the problem is multidimensional alright..

Using of amateurs trained in carnatic music vocal/instrumental/mridangam seems like a good option as suggested in a few forums, at least where quality artists are unavailable or unaffordable for the particular event . But practice and relearning a few aspects may be necessary and should be taken in the right spirits.

So if you are are a trained carnatic musician(vocalist or instrumentalist) and would like to try accompanying dancers, please leave your  details here

1. Your name and age
2. City/Country of residence
3. Your specialisation (vocal/which instrument)
4. Your training details/how long have you trained/experience etc.
5. Contact email/website URL.

As Ashwini comments, “VDS Arts Academy” has a registry of upcoming musicians and dancers. You could try contacting them for suggestions at :

VDS Arts Academy
(Arts wing of Muthukrishnan Memorial Club),

20,IV Lane, Nungambakkam High Road, Chennai – 600034.

Phone: 044 – 28117485 / 24333746 / 28142359 / 94441 72342

e-mail: vdsartsacademy@yahoo.co.in

Filed under: Arts, Bharatanatyam, CD, Carnatic Music, DVD, Dance, India, NRI, Nattuvangam, Performing Arts, Rasika, VCD, artists, choreograhers, choreography, do's and don'ts for dancers, experiences, learning, students, talent, upcoming artist