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* Guru CR Acharyulu was a multi-faceted personality; creative, enthusiastic and talented. I can never forget the way he made his letterheads. After practice, he would at times take a white sheet, make cut-outs of different Nataraja postures, temple backgrounds, his dance poses and glue them together in a way to create his own layout for the letterhead. He would then take Xerox copies of the same and write letters to several artistes and organizers. ('Guru CR Acharyulu' by Vyjayanthi Kashi, Nartanam, Vol XX, No: 1, Jan-March 2020) * Guru CR Acharyulu was keen on experimentation and constant explorations. He used to draw the picture of Lord Vinayaka set to Vinayaka tala but eventually stopped teaching the same as it was considered inauspicious. In the Tarangam that he taught his disciples, in addition to dancing on the rim of a brass plate, he incorporated the act of balancing a brass pot filled with water on the head with lamps held in both the palms. He explained the same as the symbolic representation of Gynana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga respectively. ('Guru CR Acharyulu' by Vyjayanthi Kashi, Nartanam, Vol XX, No: 1, Jan-March 2020) * The film ONKARA directed by Unni KR, explores the connect between the Mavilan community, an obscure tribe of Kerala and Theyyam. Onkara is reportedly the first film in Markodi, a dialect of the Tulu language that does not have a script. ('The dance of identity' by Shailaja Tripathy, The Hindu Friday Review, March 29, 2024) * My first dance performance was way before my arangetram. My father was shooting for a film in a temple in Mysore. There was this American producer who was making a documentary in India, and he wanted me to do this snake charmer dance right outside the temple for a big festival. There were 10-12 snake charmers all around me; it was frightening but also an unforgettable experience. (Padma Subrahmanyam in 'Nobody in my family thought I would take up dance so seriously,' by Mantha Surabhi, Times of India, Feb 26, 2024) * Hema Rajagopalan (Artistic Director, Natya Dance Theatre) was the first Indian dancer to arrive in Chicago, as was Ranee Ramaswamy (Artistic Director, Ragamala Dance Company) in Minneapolis, and Rathna Kumar (Artistic Director, Anjali Center for Performing Arts) in Texas. The three of them are earliest founders of internationally recognised Bharatanatyam companies in the USA. * On Feb 20, 2024 at the golden jubilee (50th edition) event of the Khajuraho Dance Festival in Madhya Pradesh at the world renowned heritage site, 1484 artistes came together to set a new Guinness World Record for the biggest Kathak dance performance ever. The Kathak Kumbh performance marks the third consecutive world record achievement for Madhya Pradesh, following the successful events in Ujjain and Gwalior. In Ujjain, 1,171,078 diyas were lit to establish a world record, while Gwalior witnessed 1,600 tabla artistes playing in unison during the Taal Darbar at the Tansen Samaroh in Gwalior Fort, securing another accolade. The Kathak dance extravaganza at the Khajuraho Dance Festival added to the state's tally of world records. ('Cultural milestone for MP: Khajuraho Dance Festival sets world record' by DVLS Pranathi, Business Standard, Feb 22, 2024) * Dr.L Subramaniam is a violinist, composer and conductor whose compositions have been used in stage presentations of leading dance companies such as the San Jose Ballet Company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Subramaniam composed the piece "Shanti Priya" for the Mariinsky Ballet. He composed the film scores for the films Salaam Bombay (1988) and Mississippi Masala (1991) directed by Mira Nair, in addition to being the featured violin soloist in Bernardo Bertolucci's Little Buddha (1993) and Cotton Mary (1999) of Merchant-Ivory productions. (Wikipedia) * Devadasi Tanjore Gnyana (born in 1857 in Tiruvarur) performed on 17 December 1875 at the Royapuram Railway Station in Madras. The occasion was the visit of His Highness Prince Edward of Wales during his tour of India. The audience included the Prince, several Maharajahs, the Nawab of Arcot, and numerous Indian royalty. ('My journey seeking the last Devadasis (Part 1)' by Lakshmi Viswanathan, for Sathir Dance Art Trust, January 22, 2018) |
