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

Recent Season Info updates/Upcoming programs

 Visit http://sangeethas.wordpress.com/2008/10/03/madras-music-season-programmes-2008-2009/ to see a few  upcoming programs for Jan 2009

Here is a gooddatabase to check for concerts in Chennai http://www.findnearyou.com/Misc/Music_Finder.aspx

Carnatic Darbar Season updates (includes schedules for many sabhas) can be seen here

Carnatic Darbar presents the Kalakshetra dance schedule here (Dec 21st,2008 to Jan 3,2009)

Kartik Fine Arts season schedule is here

Art Indias website now has a lot to offer at http://www.artindia.net/madras08/index.html

http://www.kutcheribuzz.com/decseason2008/schedules.asp looks complete now.

Programs of Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam can be found at http://www.padmadance.com/concerts.htm

Music Academy Dance Festival between Jan 3rd- 9th (2009) can be seen here

Tapas Academy programs , Jan 2nd to 7th (2009) can be seen here

Filed under: Arts, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Chennai, Dance, Dance Gurus, December season., Kartik Fine Arts, Madras, Madras Music Season, Madras dance Festival, Performing Arts, Rasika, artists, choreography, dance festival, experiences, program , Anita Guha, C.V. Chandrashekhar, Jyotsna Jagannathan, Kalakshetra, Krishnakumari Narendran, Lakshmi Ramaswamy, Padma Subrahmanyam, Ranganayaki Jayaraman, Urmila Satyanarayanan

2008-2009 Madras Season Dance Awards

Season ‘08-’09 Dance Awards

Music Academy: awards Sangita Kala Acharya to Dance Guru Sarada Hoffmann. The awards will be confered at the Sadas on January 1, 2009 . The 82nd annual conference of The Music Academy to be held from December 15 to January 1 .

Kartik Fine Arts: presents the ‘Nadanamamani‘ to dancer Divya Kasturi and ‘Natya Chudar’ to Bavya Balasubramanin and Lavanya raghuraman (Alapana arts, Singapore). The award will be conferred at At the inauguration of the music festival on December12 at Narada Gana Sabha.

Nungambakkam Cultural Academy : awards dancer Rajeswari Sainath the award Nrithya Kala Sironmani.  The award includes a citation, a gold medallion and a cash prize of Rs.10,000. The Nungambakkam Cultural Academy Trust celebrates its 39th anniversary from December 5 at Ramarao Kala Mantap Auditorium, Chennai and the award will be presented on the inaugural day.

The Indian Fine Arts Society has decided to confer on dancer Manjula Lusti Narasimhan the title ‘Natya Kalasikhamani’. The title will be conferred on her at the 76th South Indian Music Conference and Festival of the Society. The award-giving ceremony will take place on January 4, 2009. The event will be held at Balamandir, German Hall, T.Nagar. Manjula Lusti Narasimhan is a Bharatanatyam exponent and a disciple of Sudharani Raghupathy.

Sri Krishna Gana Sabha’s 53rd Art & Pongal Dance festival will be inaugurated on December 12. On the occasion Jayant Kastuar, Kathak exponent, will be presented with the Nrithya Choodamani title along with a citation, a gold medal and cash award of Rs.50,000. Guru Krishnakumari Narendran, Bharatanatyam exponent, will be presented with the Aacharya Choodamani Award along with a citation, a gold medal and a cash award of Rs.25,000.

 Source: The Hindu and Kutcheribuzz

Filed under: Arts, Bharat Kalachar, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Carnatic Music, Chennai, Dance, Dance Gurus, December season., India, Kartik Fine Arts, Krishna Gana Sabha, Madras, Madras Music Academy, Madras Music Season, Madras dance Festival, Performing Arts, Rasika, Sri Krishna Gana sabha, artists, awards, choreograhers, choreography, dance festival, talent, titles, upcoming artist

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

I will put in the dance programmes for the 2008-2009 Chennai Music Season that I get to know of (as and when I get to know) … Please visit to the links below for more complete information..  I request readers/dancers to send in info of programs already not listed here . You may send them to me as a comment in this post or email it to me if you know my ID:) The sources of info of the following schedules are based on personal emails received and from websites whose URL’s have been listed below:- (*)

22nd Nov. 2008 : 

Priya Ramadoss(Disciple of Smt. savitri Jagannatha Rao) Performs at Naradha Gana Sabha mini hall under the auspices of Natyarangam at 6:00pm

Navya Natarajan Menon Performs at Naradha Gana Sabha mini hall under the auspices of Natyarangam at 7:30pm

23rd Nov. 2008 :

Lakshmi Ramaswamy demonstrates Prof. Raghuraman’s lecture on “Aham and Puram” of Tamil literature for Natyarangam.(morning lec dem series). Pl check timings

1st Dec. 2008

 Group performance by students of Sri Mudralaya (Disciples of Smt. Lakshmi Ramaswamy), Mylapore Fine arts.. 7.30-9pm

11th Dec.2008

 Bharathanatyam Solo by Purnima Balasubramanian (Disciple of Smt. Lakshmi ramaswamy) at Meenakshi College, 11am

13th Dec.2008

Bharatanrityam Recital By Bala Devi Chandrashekar, Mylapore Fine Arts,Inaugural Day Concert: “Garland of Gems by Great Composers” ,Time: 7.00 pm

15th Dec. 2008

Dance Drama ” Jagam Nee Aham nee” by students of Sri Mudralaya (Smt. Lakshmi Ramaswamy),  at P.S. Senior School, 6pm 

16 Dec. 2008:

Rama Vaidyanathan  Nungambakkam Cultural Academy – Rama Rao Kala Mantap, 111, Habbillula Road, T.Nagar, Chennai-600017. Tel:+91-(0)-44-28343252. 07.00pm.

Shilpa Krishnan, Hamsadhwani sabha,  Adayar Youth Hostel in Indira Nagar, Adyar, Madras, evening concert (Contact  R. Sundar – Secretary – phone : 91 44 24915555/ 24901700)

18 Dec. 2008:

Rama Vaidyanathan Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Ramanujan Auditorium, Taramani, Chennai. 08.00pm

 

20 Dec. 2008:

 Rama Vaidyanathan Brahma Gana Sabha – Petachi Sivagami Auditorium, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004. 06.30pm

21 st. Dec. 2008:

 Shruthi and Shalini Srivatsan will be performing at Adayar Hostel under the Hamsadhwani banner. The program is slated for 7:30pm

22 Dec. 2008:

Rama Vaidyanathan Kalakshetra – Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai 600 041. Tel: +91-(0)44-24524057. 06.00pm

23 Dec. 2008

Kalaimamani Ramya Ramnarayan , 2 PM , Narada Gana Saba

Bharatanrityam Recital by Bala Devi Chandrasekhar,Nungambakkam Cultural Academy, Time: 6.30 pm

Kum Sharanya Balaji,(Disciple of Guru Vishal Ramani, USA), Varasiddhi Vinayagar Temple, besant Nagar) for TVG Academy of Indian Music and Arts, from 5-6.30pm

24 Dec. 2008:

Rama Vaidyanathan Bharat Kalachar – No.7, Lake 1st Main Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai 600 034. Padma Seshadri School Auditorium. 06.45pm

Deepti Venkatraman (Disciple Of Ramya Ramnarayan), Kartik Fine Arts Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore, 4pm

25th Dec. 2008

Smt. Lakshmi Ramaswamy presents her dance drama based on the Sangam Literatute nattrinai, titled ” Sangamum Sangamamum” at Narada Gana Sabha Main Hall, 2- 3.30pm

26th Dec. 2008

Bharatanatyam solo by Kalaimamani Ramya Ramnarayan for Kartik Fine Arts at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 6 pm

29th Dec. 2008

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

Pooja Kumar, Karthik Fine Arts (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan) at 4:30 p.m.

31st Dec. 2008:

Lakshmi Ramaswamy’s Sri Mudralaya students perform at Guruvayoorappan temple, Mahalingapuram , 7pm

Sharanya Balaji (Disciple of Guru Vishal ramani), Youth Hostel, Indira Nagar for Hamsadhwani Sabha , 7pm

02 Jan. 2009:

Pooja Kumar ( Program awarded to the Winner of Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana ), Narada Gana Sabha Main Hall at 6:30 p.m.

 Deepti Venkatraman,(Disciple of Ramya Ramnarayan)  for Mudra Fine Arts at Old No.10/4(New No.21/4),Shenoy Road, Nugambakkam, Chennai 600 034, 5 pm

Bala devi Chandrasekhar, Bharatanrityam at Vani Mahal,“Shree Krishna Smriti” ,Time: 5.30 pm

03rd Jan. 2009:

Bharathanatyam solo by Archana Mahesh (Dis. of Lakshmi Ramaswamy) for GanaMukunda Priya at RK Swamy Hall at 4.30pm

 Deepti Venkatraman (disciple of Ramya Ramnarayan) Thiyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, Vani Mahal, T.Nagar at 6.30pm

04 th Jan. 2009:

Sadhaa Shanmugham Smaraami”,  Bharathanatyam Solo by Savitha Vankatapathy for Gana Mukundapriya, at R.K. Swamy Hall  at 4.30pm 

06 Jan. 2009:

Solo by Mythili Prakash at The Music Academy , chennai at 11.30 am

07 Jan. 2009:

Solo by Shijith Nambiar at The Music Academy , chennai at 11am

Sri Krishna Jananam Produced by Bharatakalanajli under partial funding from ISKCON. Artistic direction & production co-ordination: Naatyaachaarya V.P.Dhananjayan  Choregraphy: Prof. A. Janardhanan (former Principle artiste and Principal of Kalakshetra, Chennai  Music composition: Mysore S. Rajaram (former Director, Kalakshetra, Chennai. Participants: Bharatakalanjali Artistes & Graduates from Kalakshetra (Pl chk for timings) at Music Academy

09 Jan. 2009:

Pooja Kumar, Bharath Kalachar at 6:00 p.m.

Rama Vaidyanathan Music Academy, TTK Auditorium, 168, TTK Road, Chennai. Tel:+91-(0)-44-2811 2231. 06.00pm

Navia Natarajan Menon, Kartik Fine Arts, Narada Gana Sabha (Mini Hall),Chennai, 6:00pm – 7:00pm

14th Jan. 2009:

Bharathanatyam solo by smt. Lakshmi ramaswamy at Mylapore Fine Arts, 7.30pm.

15th Jan. 2009:

Bharathanatyam solo by Smt. Lakshmi ramaswamy at Bramha Gana Sabha, 7.30pm.

18th Jan. 2009:

Bharathanatyam by Aishwarya Narayanaswamy for Brahma gana sabha Sivagami petachi auditorium, Mylapore, 6pm

 27th Jan. 2009:

Bharathanatyam by Aishwarya Narayanaswamy at Parthasarathy swami sabha, R.K.Swamy hall, Mylapore, 7.15pm

 

*Please confirm the schedules with Local newpapers or sabha guides

To see the list of awardees for the Music Season (‘08-’09) click here

Links for Updates

• Searchable database of concerts from kutcheribuzz
• Season Coverage by Kutcheribuzz
• Mr. Ramkumar ’s blog
• Music Season Coverage By Art India
• Updates from from Carnatic Darbar(includes schedules from lot many sabhas)
• Kalakshetra Schedule from Carnatic darbar
• http://www.musicacademymadras.in/2008-work/2008_schedule.html (Their Dance programs are usually after the Music season in the first week of January or so)
• Here are a few available websites of a few other popular sabhas..
  http://www.krishnaganasabha.org/home.html: The Pongal Dance festival and Nadaswara Isai Vizha, a part of December Art Festival will be held from January 2 to January 19, in which young as well as experienced dancers will be featured.
  http://www.bharatkalachar.com/
  http://parthasarathysabha.com/
  http://www.kutcheribuzz.com/ebrochures/srithyagabrahmaganasabha/
  http://www.kutcheribuzz.com/ebrochures/kartikfinearts/
  http://www.rrsabhamylapore.in/ (Rasika Ranjini sabha)

A few of these may not be updated regularly

Filed under: Arts, Bharat Kalachar, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Chennai, Conference, Dance, Dance Gurus, December season., Dhananjayan, India, Kalakshetra, Kartik Fine Arts, Krishna Gana Sabha, Literature, Madras, Madras Music Academy, Madras Music Season, Madras dance Festival, Male Bharathanatyam dancer, NRI, Narada Gana sabha, Natyarangam, Performing Arts, Rasika, Shanta, Sheejith Krishna, Shijith Nambiar, artists, choreograhers, choreography, dance drama, dance festival, experiences, learning, program, students, upcoming artist , Add new tag, Aishwarya Narayanaswamy, Bala Devi Chandrashekar, Hamsadhwani, Navia Natarajan, Pooja Kumar, Ramya ramnarayan, Shilpa Krishnan, USA, Vishal Ramani

“Natyadarshan Seminar”- Sensuality In Indian Dance

Here is an excerpt from the Lec-Dem by T. M. Krishna on the first (out of 3 days) of the Natyadarshan conference organized by Kartik fine Arts…

Mr. Ram, who attended the conference sums up the lec dem in his blog

The following is an excerpt from his report published with his consent.

“Vidwan T.M. Krishna (TMK) presented a lec dem on “Sensuality in (Indian) Music”, accompanied by Vid. Amritha Murali on the violin and Vid K. Arun Prakash on the mrudangam.”

General observations:

• Music being an abstract and ‘non-physical’ form, putting experiences into words and conveying them through music is much harder than conveying the same through dance where you are actually watching the emotion(s) being conveyed

• Whether it is dance or music, what is aesthetic and what is not is completely dependent on the individual performer. It is so very subjective. It depends on the background of the individual, what he/she has been exposed to, where he/she lives etc. What is sensual and what is vulgar is again a subjective thing

Difference between singing for music and singing for dance:

• When a person sings for dance, the sensuality in the voice is interwoven with the sensuality of the dancer. Both have to draw from each other. The musician has to see what the dancer is doing and the dancer has to be sensitive musically and not just lyrically to bring in the sensuality.
• Whereas at a vocal concert is a totally different ball game. The experience here is not drawn from the audience. The singer has to first experience the sensuality and only then does the transfer happen to the audience. Only then does the audience feel it. How much a singer internalizes his music and how much skill he/she has also matters

Sensuality in lyrics:

• Lyrics can drive sensuality (ex. kaNNanE en kaNavan, padams, javaLis). But it’s not necessary that for a song to be sensual, the sensuality must be driven from the lyrics alone

• There is sensuality in pure music itself, sans lyrics

• When you sing with an approach of gay abandon, you are bound to move to a state where you experience a high level of sensuality yourself and eventually end up transferring that experience to the audience too.

Mr Ram has also captured T.M. Krishna’s views on:

• Sensuality and the composer:
• Sensuality of ragas
• Sensuality and the system of music
• Sensuality and pace
• Sensuality and percussion
• Sensuality and vulgarity

He infers that “Sensuality in music and the way it is portrayed is completely a reflection of the individual who is singing.”

To read the complete post please click here

Here is a previous post in this blog that relates to the conference.

Filed under: Abhinaya, Arts, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Carnatic Music, Chennai, Conference, Dance, December season., Kalanidhi Narayanan, Kartik Fine Arts, Madras, Madras Music Season, Madras dance Festival, Natyadarshan, Padam, Performing Arts, South Asian Dance, Workshops, artists, choreograhers, choreography, dance festival, do's and don'ts for dancers, experiences, javali, students

Vaishnava Bharathi- a dance pilgrimage by Urmila Satyanarayanan

Urmila Satyanarayanan’s solo thematic work, ‘Vaishnava Bharathi,’ was a compilation of devotional hymns from across the country tracing the path of the Vaishnav insignia and the map of the Indian peninsula simultaneously.

The journey started from Bengal with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Hari naamsankirtan, to Puri Jagannath with Jayadeva, to Tirupathi with Annamacharya, to Srirangam as visualised by Andal, to Kerala with Irayaman Thampi, to Udipi with Purandaradasa and to Maharashtra with an abhang.

The production had a few additions: a Meera bhajan (‘Paga Ghungharoo Re’), a Dhanashree tillana (Swati Tirunal, Adi talam) and ‘Vaishnava Jana To’ (Narasimha Mehta).

There were about ten compositions in this exhaustive list. It was a musically rich production and Swamimalai K.Suresh did a good job with his sincere rendition. The problem was with its visualisation. This is a challenge at the best of times, and more so in a situation where the scope is limited to one predominant rasa, in bhakti.

‘Vaishnava Bharati’ opened on a slow and meditative note with Annamacharya’s kriti, ‘Sriman Narayana’ (Bowli, Adi).

As the curtains went up on the darkened stage, the modified Vaishnav insignia with a white ‘v’ (Thirumann) and the red line (Sri Choornam) in the middle, created with clever lighting by Murugan, was visible in the background. It made a dramatic statement and remained visible through the evening, serving as a constant reminder of the theme.

The ‘dance pilgrimage’ as Urmila called it, was dedicated to the memory of noted music and dance scholar, T.S.Parthasarathy. The soundscape was the most significant part of the production.

The choice of melodious and evocative songs was one aspect; the other was the layering of the track with Vedic chants like the Purusha Suktham and the Sanskrit prayer, the Venkateswara Suprabhatam, among others. These familiar add-ons gave a sense of immediacy to the devotional hymns bringing them closer to the rasika.

One of the most beautifully rendered was Andal’s sixth Tirumozhi, ‘Varanamayiram’ (ragamalika, Adi) describing her dream of the wedding ceremony. Another gem was ‘Enthamathramuna’ (ragamalika, misra chapu, Annamacharya).

Suresh was backed by a skilful set of musicians: Sigamani (violin), T.Sashidhar (flute) and Nellai D.Kannan (mridangam).

While the music was pleasant, the dance choreography lagged behind. The opening ‘Pralaya Payodhi Jale’ (ragamalika, Adi, Jayadeva), the Dasavatara poem from the Gita Govinda, for example, was exhaustive but time was not a luxury. Urmila could afford with such a long line up. Some others like ‘Karuna Chaivan’ (Yadukulakhambodi, misra chapu, Irayaman Thampi) would have benefited with more involvement. The production requires better planning from a collective standpoint, as literal interpretations of individual pieces lead to a sense of sameness.

There were some well-visualised ones as well, such as ‘Mella Mellane Bandene’ (Mohanam, Adi, Purandaradasa) and the abhang (‘Jeevaprane’). The production needs more of them to take off.

Source: Review of the Program in Kartik Fine arts by Rupa Srikanth in the Hindu

Filed under: Bharathanatyam, December season., Kartik Fine Arts, Madras, Urmila Satyanarayanan, Vaishava Bharati, dance festival