Report 

Annual Day celebrations of Natyanjali Kuchipudi Dance School  
- Vidya Mahankali 
 
 
February 21, 2007 

 
Natyanjali Kuchipudi Dance School of Plano, TX presented its first Annual Day program on February 3, 2007. An enthusiastic audience attended the program in Garland Plaza Theater, Garland, TX to watch performances by students ranging from six year olds learning jatis to senior students presenting padam and keertanas. 

Srilatha Suri, director of Natyanjali, welcomed the audience and invoked the blessings of her Guru and mentor, renowned Kuchipudi dancer Sobha Naidu. The evening's program opened with the traditional Vedam jatis and Slokamalika ("Mooshika Vahana") by Suman, Mallika, Sahiti, Mouctika, Tanvi and Pooja. This group was joined by Amoolya, Mahita, Neha B, Neha K, Shrutika and Shraddha in a charming presentation of a folksy raasakreeda item, Brundavanamidi. The lyric and upbeat tempo of the dance recreated the images of Lord Krishna and the gopikas playing on the banks of the river Yamuna. 

Ranga pooja ("Brahmanjali") was performed gracefully by Dhanya, Mouna, Manvita and Srujana who also followed up later in the program with Devulapalli Krishna Shastri's "Koluvaitiva Rangasayi" from the well known Vipranarayana ballet. The item vividly describes the beauty of Lord Ranganathaswami of Srirangapatnam and ends with movements set to fast paced jatis. 

Annamacharya's padam "Kulukaka nadavaro" was executed in unison by Pranhuti Bhaskari and Bharaty. The song describes the scene of Goddess Alamelumanga being carried in a palanquin by her maids to meet her lord. The trio beautifully portrayed the sentiments of the poet, who reminds the maids to walk gently because their swaying motion is causing the flowers from her hair to fall down. 

Pranamya Suri, Srilatha's daughter and disciple, presented Dr. Sobha Naidu’s choreography and paid homage to Goddess Saraswati with Mysore Vasudevachar's "Mamavatu Saraswati." Pranamya's strong footwork and solid technique shone through in this item, which was the highlight of the evening. Earlier in the program, Pranamya also provided a perfect picturization of Shahaji Maharaja's "Koluvai unnade," which describes the resplendent appearance of Lord Shiva. 

The program concluded with a tillana in Taayamaalika, followed by mangalam. Choreographed by Jaikishore Mosalikanti, the tillana was performed with gusto by Bhaskari, Pranhuti and Bharaty. 

The evening concluded with a colorful, energetic mangalam with good coordination from all the students. 

Srilatha Suri under whose able guidance all the items of the evening were presented thanked everyone for their presence, participation and motivation and presented the awards for the students of Natyanjali Kuchipudi Dance School, Plano, Texas.