The art connoisseurs of the Garden city were treated to a dance festival to mark the International Dance Day on 28th and 29th April at the serene open-air auditorium, Chitra Kala Parishat. 

Shambhavi School of Dance and South Central Zone Cultural Center, Nagpur had jointly organized the program. The doyen of the Bangalore dance circle, Prof. U.S. Krishna Rao lit the traditional lamp and spoke on the Seven R’s a dancer ought to know to endear the Sahridayas. He recollected how he was entranced by the radiance of Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundel in 1934 during her performance. 

The inaugural day was a feast of divine art indeed. Amidst the drizzle, the spellbound audience watched a wonderful performance of Odissi by Ratikant Mohapatra and Sujatha Mohapatra of Bhubaneswar. The Pallavi, which means elaboration presented by Sujatha, was very graceful, emphasizing the flavor of Odissi dance with its bends in the body, neck, knees and waist .The couple concluded their presentation with Chudamanipradhan, a recital dedicated to Hanuman, a devote follower of Lord Rama. 

Navarasa presented by Bangalore based dancer Padmaja Suresh and her group was neat. Following this was Kathak by Rosella Fanelli, the Italian girl who fell in love with the Indian art of Natya. Rosella’s Krishna Thandava was well presented; she is Pt. Arjun Mishra’s disciple. 

The second day’s events took off with poetry reading by Dr.George Molescis from Cyprus who hailed dance as universal, with no language or geographical barriers. He quoted a few Greek couplets from Awaiting for the Rain and the Naked Soul in their English version. 

Then ‘Kala’ Krishna enthralled the audience with Andhra Natyam, the evergreen piece Bhama-Kalapam. Those who hadn’t seen him earlier enjoyed ‘her’ gracious movements, shared the jealous, expectant, arrogant Satyabhama’s ire on mischievous Krishna. Kala Krishna’s magnetic, rhythmic movements were complemented by the melodious vocal support of Rama Jagannathan and orchestra. At times he was astounding. A worthy disciple of Dr. Nataraja Ramakrishna of Hyderabad, he deserves continued encouragement by dance-lovers. 

Vyjayanthi Kashi’s favorite God probably is Lord Ganesha. She started her Kuchipudi recital with Ganesha Pravesha Dharavu, a typical dance-recital of Vedic hues. Vyjayanthi depicted the Mudras, Aangika and Abhinaya aspect of Naatya Ganapathi. 

The divine child of Shiva-Shakti, Ganesha’s swirling, joyous movements and postures all typical of the sacred Aum were executed by her with ease. This is what Prof. U S Krishna Rao meant when he mentioned Restraint and Rapport among the seven R’s! The Ardha Nareewara dance recital excelled in the co-existence of Shiva and Shakti. Vyjayanthi was at her best in showing parallely, the cosmic Prakriti and Purusha in Bhava and Rasa exposition. 

The dancer choreographer concluded her presentation with a message on universal Love and Peace along with her disciples, a wonderful experience for one and all, proving without a doubt, the communicative power of dance.

Vishwa Nritya Mahotsav, the brainchild of Vyjayanthi Kashi concluded on 29th April on a zealous note.