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 Young dancers impress - Chittaranjan Mothikhane e-mail: chittaranjanmothikhane@gmail.com March 27, 2017 On the third Sunday of every month, Mysore B Nagaraj presents the Articulate Festival in Mysore and this month’s event, tenth in the series, took place at the Premier Convention Hall, on 19th March 2017. Atanu Das from Kolkata opened the festival with his Bharatanatyam recital. Given the duration he fit a varnam into the slot and presented Papanasam Sivan’s composition in Nattakurunji raga, adi tala and Krishnaveni Lakshmanan’s choreography eulogizing Lord Nataraja. It was a smart choice as both nritta and nritya could be presented with equal emphasis. The geometrically precise movement of Atanu’s limbs and his gestures translating the poetry into motion was communicative and elegant.
Today speed rules including in classical dances. Yet the languorous pace of Odissi in Paridhi Joshi’s mangalacharan took one into a blissful state. She chose her opening number befitting the presiding deity of Mysore, Ma Durga. The choreography of Guru Gangadhar Pradhan and Aruna Mohanty, ably mentored by Madhulita Mohapatra of Nrityantar, Bangalore, to the music of Guru Gopal Chandra Panda, "Dhyayeth suvarna varna" was indeed prayerful. She finished her short concert with Pallavi (raga Megh and taal jhampa), the most graceful segment of Odissi repertoire that grows like a creeper in cadence and complexity. Guru Ratikant Mohapatra’s choreography included movements that brought out the flavor of rains and splashing waters well knit into traditional movements and gestures. What lingered on in the mind of the onlooker is the beautifully emoted Jayadeva’s ashtapadi "Virachita chatu vachana." Paridhi brought out the shringara aspect with restraint, though the sahithya leaned towards corporeal. With not an iota of vulgarity, her portrayal was sensuality raised to spirituality. Paridhi was in full command of the dance medium when she presented Guru Meera Das’s choreography. Soma Ghosh from Kolkata presented three dance numbers in Kathak. Starting with an Ardhanareeshwara Vandana, she went through a tarana set to teen taal and concluded with a thumri penned by Bindadin Maharaj.  SAI Arts International ensemble The finale of the festival was Bharatanatyam choreography of Dr. Suparna Venkatesh presented by SAI Arts International ensemble. The eight member group was a confluence of rhythm and grace. The dance to the refrains of mallari in Gambhira Nattai and chaturashra eka tala, in different interesting speeds set off a beginning that made the prekshaka immerse in the beauty of Bharatanatyam. The composition “Jagadanandakaraka,” one of the pancharatna krithis, unveiled the life and times of Lord Rama. The choreography of their guru was justified by the dancers with crisp, clear and neat nritta and abhinaya when they enacted fleeting anecdotes, finishing them with jathis and complex teermanams. The tillana (Desh, khanda jati triputa) composed by G. Gurumurthy was full of verve and vitality after the rendition of Tyagaraja’s composition. The artists Sharath T Suryanarayana, Nidhaga Karunad, Kavyashree Nagaraj, Shamika B, Ashitha R Kumar, Kavitha Krishnamurthy, Deepa S Pillai, and Shweta Venkatesh put their best dancing foot forward and enlivened the audience. |
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