e-mail: leelakaverivenkat@gmail.com


We are delighted to welcome renowned critic Leela Venkataraman to the narthaki family of writers. She will contribute to her column titled TAALAM.

2025

Impressive dance recitals across Delhi

Exhilarating performances by Sutra, G Narendra and Anandita Narayanan

Echo of Kumudini Lakhia & Remembering Zohra Segal

Bhagyam Arts and Ideas recalls pages of Gandhi's Satyagraha and righteous struggle

A fortnight of programs off the beaten track

A ten day period of variety

Utsav Educational and Cultural Society's Sare Jahan Se Achha devoted to memory of Guru Mayadhar Raut 

Tradition in Transition  

Sougandhika Centre's Lasya Lahari showcases new vitality of Mohiniattam  

Music Academy's annual Mid Year Dance Festival presents variety of competing young talents

Kalakshetra Foundation's annual tribute to its founder

Celebrating India's tryst with peace through Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav

Moments of movement and melody from Music Academy’s mega dance festival

Solo projections of high quality and promise in Dance for Dance festival

Twenty fourth year of Natya Darshan Festival

Chennai swamped by Margazhi music/dance deluge



2024

Brilliant metaphoric interplay of life and kite flying in Pagrav Dance Company’s Kattam Katti

Beyond margam expressions

Bridging gap between theory and practice in multi-faceted Tripuranthara Festival

Varied interpretations of Shakti Mahima in Nritya Samutsavam

Natya Vriksha centre stages two faces - of an inheritor and of a beneficiary

Saroha Festival: In memory of Guru Hare Krishna Behera

Encouraging response to Aavartan Festival

Nrityantar's Naman 2024 an interactive delight

Crowded week starts with monsoon moods

Moham and performances for Independence Day

Connection between poetics, music and abhinaya

Swarna Saroja program proves an eye opener

Week of exceptional programs

Live dance and taped music

Showcasing Odissi and deliberating on its generational changes

A delightful week of Kabir, Bharatanatyam and Swarna Saroja

Home truths in Abhadra of societal snobbery

Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra's three day Ballet Festival

Week of varied fare

Epoch making 17th World Dance Day celebration by Natya Vriksha

When the artiste and the art become one entity in dialogue

Kathak draped in a different sensibility

Simple tale of 'Arisi: Rice' spins lavish cross cultural entertainment



2023

IIC Experience celebrates the lived traditions of South India in Dakshinayan

Natya Tarangini's Parampara Festival marks its 27th celebration

Odissi - Kuchipudi double bill, Dviparna and Gandhi Leela

Odissi of two vintages

Kathak in varied manifestations

Laudable attempts at recapturing flavours of Vedic women and their wisdom

Dance in the old mould and in new directions

Yajnaseni - Born from the womb of fire

Promising young talents in double-bill concert

Navarasa - A Virtual Dance Festival

In memory of a Kathak legend

Immersive cultural extravaganza blending art with scholarship in Ramayana Kalpavrksam

Nritya Veerangana - Brainchild of Dr. Sonal Mansingh

Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav: When war games transform into peace messages

Getting to know Vitasta’s gift to India

Magic Bow's enchanting delve into mind of music composer

Dvi-Nethram - A two eyed vision of tradition in Natya Darshan



2022

The searchlight on art of critiquing in Amrit Yuva Kalotsav by SNA

The festival sun rises again at Konark

Life's dreams spun into weaver's thread

Parampara Festival features changing face of inheritance in dance

Sparkling Spanda synergy

Young talent played its part too

Remembering Rohini Bhate

Central to Indian aesthetic and philosophical traditions is sringar in all its facets

Celebrating Gandhi Jayanti through Gandhi Leela

Anubandh- Scintillating blend of collaborative inputs with performative excellence

Kathak Lok: Dimensions of temple tradition and history in Kathak

Dance in Delhi after the Pandemic

Slick Kathak expression of an Unprecedented Awakening

Fond memories of generous contribution of Guru Kallianpurkar - Kathak's non gharana legator

Collaborative excellence marks Twelfth Pragjyoti Festival: Part 2

Collaborative excellence marks Twelfth Pragjyoti Festival: Part 1

Music Academy's digital all Bharatanatyam Annual Festival of Dance

Mahagami's searchlight on pedagogical pathways for traditional performing arts within folds of university education



2021

Grandeur of Kathakali which never fails to awe

Parampara Festival: Unusual jugalbandis of different regional genres of music and dance

Bewildering variety in Narthaki’s Devi Diaries continues

Dance expressions built round manifestations of divinised female and male   energies

Moving requiem to Kapila Vatsyayan - the only guru of her kind

West Zone Cultural Centre presents online Malhar Festival

Evolution of Kathak in post independent India

Fond remembrances of selfless Guru of Jaipur Gharana Guru Kundanlal Gangani

Anvesana's Reflections in Solitude stir creative energies to fresh leaps of hope

Back to the roots in Nupur  Zankar's marathon Sanskriti Mahotsav on Kathak Gharanas

Chakshu - Dance from the perspective of the camera

Navarasa Sadhana - Breath control for emoting in art

Khajuraho Festival - A mishmash of varying levels of proficiency

Animated discussion on to be or not to be of Guru-Shishya

Nrityaparva 2021 dedicated to lately departed stalwarts

The Sunil I knew and will miss



2020

A towering post-Independence presence in Indian art history and aesthetics is no more

Slick virtual presentation of 26th Kelucharan Mohapatra Awards Festival

Stree vesham and a stree without parallel

Some refreshing moments on Internet

Two post war dance stalwarts - So different yet alike

Interactions and virtual Spic Macay Convention a unique experience - I

Interactions and virtual Spic Macay Convention a unique experience - II

At last a discussion on 'Economies of Performing Arts'

Inspiring week showing indomitable spirit of dancers 

Dance distorted during pandemic 

Scintillating Kathak capturing aroma of Dilli's great poets

Message of peace from Dhauli-Kalinga

Promising youngsters in Music Academy's endowment program

Kalavaahini's Margazhi offer of 'Dance for Dance'

Nirikshana: Natya Kala Conference marks its 39th year of celebration-2

Nirikshana: Natya Kala Conference marks its 39th year of celebration-1

Naachiyar Next - A delectable breath of fresh air



2019

Encouraging the young generation of dancers

Thirty years of dance serenading Konark's Surya Deva

Connecting text with practice - Nrtta Ratnavali to Andhra's devadasi dance

Samyog-Viyog: Good intentions needed better treatment

Arguing for a humanised rather than an idealised body

October features varying manifestations of dance

Endemic problems stir animated discourse

Blend of maturity and grace in double bill concert

Recapturing golden moments during Golden Anniversary of Kalasamarpana

Registering ten years of Nrityantar with Naman 2019

ABHAI's Pravasi Utsavam

Yoga / Nritya reaches out to the common public

SPIC MACAY Convention with  JNU collaboration centre stages multi- flavoured exercise as meditative not entertaining

Summer in Delhi

Borgeet makes the evening of Assamese classical music/dance 

Delhi inauguration of fine idea of Nava Pallava needs more clarity

More praise than dance

Arts in whole-child education

Odishi Raga Utsav

Rango'ntaratma: Multi-media presentation with a difference

Impresario evening impresses

Women and Ecology

A good start on discussions on Dance Issues by Academy

Ensemble productions in three dance traditions in Drishti National Dance Festival

Concept to execution: ANEKA a clean winner

Kadamba of Natya Darshan flowered without rambling



2018

Dance sonnets to the sun god at Konark

Festival of Kathak duets

Inclusive Debadhara

Nityananda: The one-legged miracle dancer

Impressive Sattriya dance drama captures life of Sankaradeva

Experts discuss theatre today and cultural transformation

Kathak dance evolving out of a cultural process 

Celebrating hundred years of Guru Bipin Singh's Manipuri Nartanalaya

Reaching for the skies prematurely

Monsoon Moods

Indian dance as part of the world cultural community

Swing from ridiculous to sublime during homage to Guru Kundanlal Gangani

'Her Say' by women theatre directors

Enterprise and talent keep Sutra afloat

Measuring the SPIC MACAY experience

Unexpected Odissi bonuses

Dancing on rivers

Original way of looking at group Bharatanatyam

Dancing for oneself

Evoking a feel of the Sadir dancer's joi de vivre

Devadasi's legacy to the saint poet's glory

Challenges in procuring public art grants for art and culture programmes

Dancing to poetry of liberated women saint poets

Samabhavana churns out myriad starry thoughts on new directions in Indian dance

Malavika's new creative spurt

From the foothills of Dhauli a bouquet of arts for peace and cooperation

Sringaram: 'Leitmotif' for Bharatanatyam's dual anguish/ecstasy landscaping

Good ideas of Natya Darshan needed more respect for the clock



2017

Living movements serenade frozen movements in Konark

Delhi diary

Poetry in out-of-the-book art translations

Young dancers to the fore

Evening concerts after morning deliberations in Nartanam Conclave 2017

Dance theatre with confluence of dance traditions

Thari exquisitely weaves the warp and weft of life’s saree

Dance reflecting an approach not tethered to form

Parampara finds the right dance/music blend

Events with an identity

Crisis of critical analysis in music and dance

Sublime Kathak by Divya Goswami

Teacher and taught in Sare Jahan Se Achha

Farewell to an era

Off the beaten track

Varsha Ritu draws showers of appreciation

Brave effort in Delhi by Bangalore based dancers

Performing Arts and Yoga

Takeaways from SPIC MACAY’s annual convention

Natya Vriksha's riveting salutation to dance matters

Encouraging audiences for the ticketed Divinity Series

In a different tone: Amorous Delight presents a challenging theatre of love

Impresario India gamely carries on

Contemporary dance expressions beckon

Fusion or Confusion?

Margam is ever new

Kathak Mahotsav’s re-look at old traditions and compositions

Shruti Mandal heralds half a century of service to Indian Arts

Dhauli-Kalinga Festival epitomises peace and unity amidst diversity

Tantu needs more than hype and hurry

Unique tribute to a maverick  musical  genius 

Interface of Sthiti Gati polarities

Malavika Sarukkai: Sharing the larger vision



2016

What the genius from Kashmir gave to Indian philosophy and thought

Konark Festival beckons again

Recall the then to plan the now of the Kalinga Indonesia Dialogue

Anekanta provides exhilarating Bharatanatyam experience

Akademi awardees prove mettle

Reviving Kuchipudi Yakshagana demands more than showcasing

Experienced nayikas attract large turnout

Keeping legacy alive while forging new directions

On being one’s own dancer

Requiem for an artist and cultural activist 

Simplicity sans glitz has Meera walking into every heart

Journeying into woman dancer’s inner world

Bharatanatyam duo at California’s Chinmaya Mission 

Inclusivity as strong message in Spic Macay’s international convention

Vividh Mat tickles the intellect and regales the senses

Marking World Dance Day in style

Award selections cry for transparency

‘Ganjam’ successfully captures flavours of South Odisha

Nupur steps into its third decade
 

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