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 The Bhavan's World Dance Day celebrations 2023 May 8, 2023 The Bhavan, London, celebrated the International World Dance Day on Saturday 29th of April 2023. It was cause for much celebration for The Bhavan as well as the dancers as they were reviving this event at The Bhavan auditorium after a two-year break due to the pandemic. The event proved a massive success and saw performances by dancers and dance schools who travelled from across England and performed to a sold-out auditorium. The curated performances included a general and folk-dance strand, offering the audience a plethora of dance forms to engage with and enjoy. Initially, Bhavan put out an open call for dancers and choreographers to respond to two themes they had chosen for this year - 'Dance in response to the climate change and the natural environment', and 'Dance in response to the increasing digitalisation of every aspect of today's life'. There was an overwhelming response to the open call and 16 pieces were chosen for the event.  The day began with an inaugural Bharatanatyam performance by Kavya Muralidharan, who presented an excerpt of her solo choreography 'Thryambak'. The evening session began with a prayer by The Bhavan's director Dr. Nandakumara and a symbolic lighting of the lamp by him and two of Bhavan's Executive committee members Jayshree Rajkotia and Ruby Bunker. The thematic choreographies showcased thought-provoking works. Katrina Rute and team presented a classical Odissi piece after which was a keynote address by Ragasudha Vinjamuri, who spoke about the importance of presenting art that reflected the current social conditions, and how the World Dance Day pieces were important aspects of these thoughts. She also spoke briefly about how Indian classical forms have adapted through the ages. This was followed by performances by Amritha Jayakrishnan and team, Satyam School of Dance and Music, Debanjali Biswas and Manipuri dance ensemble, Samarpana Classical Arts, Cambridge, Divya Kasturi Company's young talents, Asmitha Keer and team, Monidipa Seal and team and Abhinav Mishra and Amun Bhachu team. The general and folk segment began with a Bharatanatyam presentation by the Upahaar School of Dance, followed by a heart-warming semiclassical/Bollywood performance by Edgware dance group of women over 50's. After this the audience was treated to energetic folk dances by Ragasudha Vinjamuri and Sanskruti Centre for cultural excellence (Tribal), Garba folk dance group (Garba), London school of Hula and 'Ori (Hawaiian), Ponsita School of Dance (Tamil harvest folk), and Sarjan Nartan Academy (Rajasthani folk). The event brought together dancers who came from all over England, dancers of all age groups from 8-10-year-olds to dancers of a more mature age, and dancers who had performed previously at The Bhavan and dancers who were coming here for the first time. The immensely positive response received from the performers and the audience showed that the event was well-handled and organised.  One of the audience members commented "spectacular costumes, superb dancing - what a treat!" while one of the performers said, "We loved each and every performance - I thought the line-up was just fantastic!" The Bhavan's tech support team Sivahami, Raghu, Jermy, and Shankar were responsible for the excellent lighting and sound, and Gopi for photography. Everyone is already looking forward to the next year celebrations which will hopefully be bigger, better, and grander. |
