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Kuchipudi dance competition - Bhavanvitha Venkatesh e-mail: bhavanvitha@gmail.com December 19, 2014 Kuchipudi dance competitions were held at Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam Kuchipudi Kalakshetra on the 13th December 2014 by Samskar Bharathi, Andhra Pradesh and coordinated by Akhila Bharata Kuchipudi Natya Kalamandali. The competitions were held for two categories, seniors and juniors. Juniors were asked to perform Jatiswaram and the seniors were required to perform Saint Annamayya's sankeerthana choreographed by Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam, Kulukaga Nadavaro. The winners were S. Sravani (1st prize), Sai Chandini (2nd prize) in the Juniors   category and O. Swarnalatha (1st prize), R. Gayatri (2nd prize) in the Seniors category. Mementos were handed over to the winners thereafter by the judges A.B. Bala Kondala Rao of Kuchipudi Kalaa Kendram and Chinta Ramamurthy. The participation was enthusiastic and well received. Senior Kuchipudi gurus, who attended and helped organize the competition, included Hari Rama Murthy and Hanumantha Rao and was coordinated by Keshav Prasad of Akhila Bharata Kuchipudi Natya Kalamandali. Samskar Bharati office bearers, V Sekar and Jagannadha Rao D, who initiated the dance competition spoke high of the Kuchipudi tradition and promised to continue their encouragement. The top two prize winners in both categories were also invited to perform in a dance festival to be organized in Kuchipudi village, the organizers informed. The special attraction of the event was the spontaneous performance of the judge Bala Kondala Rao, who after the competition responded to the demands of those in attendance. She danced the item Kulukaga Nadavaro... Students could easily understand where they possibly made mistakes and got the opportunity to see for themselves the abhinaya of the senior guru. Speaking on the occasion, she explained the importance of traditions, and how to respect culture, to the students.  The function that was organized with Dr Vempati Chinna Satyam’s life size picture in Lord Shiva's role in the background was well received by both the students and parents alike.