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NARTHAKI MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
January 2020
   
ANITA SAYS.....
Love one another but
Make not a bond of love
Let it rather be a moving sea
Between the shores
Of your souls
- Kahlil Gibran, poet
Welcome to a brand NEW YEAR and the start of a NEW DECADE !
The last month of the year brought such a whirlwind of contrasting
experiences that I am still breathless from the tsunami of visuals and
sounds that have hit me for the past 31 days.
From devout crowds at my ancestral temple, to an urban library where
John Lennon met Andal; from being spellbound by a flute next to the
ocean to eyes moistening as I watched a mother sing baby Krishna
to sleep while narrating the Ramayana - this has been an
overwhelming month for me.
As patron, presenter, producer, performer, speaker, writer, host and
single parent- all the while maintaining a calm demeanour - HAS NOT BEEN
EASY.
Amidst the chaos of daily protests and arrests across India due to the
Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) a month of singing and dancing seemed
at odds with the reality of our daily lives. But then the Chennai
Margazhi season chugs on...
And just in case you were thinking that ALL roads lead to Chennai in
December, there is slight modification. Only certain parts of Chennai
celebrate MARGAZHI. Go beyond Gemini Circle to areas like Nungambakkam
and Kilpauk and you will be asked, "What is happening? What Season?"
This online dance portal began at the dawn of the millennium and it is already in its 3rd decade!
And how much our dance lives have changed!
And the most evident indicator has been the recently concluded NATYA KALA CONFERENCE at Krishna Gana Sabha.
Read on...
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ROVING EYE: A section of impressions, images and inspirations
Curated by Anita Ratnam
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SPOTLIGHT
On January 12, 2020 Nalanda
Dance Research Centre will give Nalanda's KANAKA NARTANA PURASKAAR to
Ashish Khokar, Daksha Mashruwala, M.S. Gireesan, Swapnokalpa Dasgupta
and Uma Dogra, at Kanaka Sabha, Nalanda Dance Research Centre,
Mumbai.
MADURA KALA PRAVEENA award will be conferred upon Guru Anitha Guha by
Sri Sathguru Sangeetha Samajam, Madurai, on January 11, 2020.
Krishna Gana Sabha conferred the NATYA KALA VISHARADA HA award on
veteran Guru Ranganayaki Jayaraman, Sri Saraswathy Gana Nilayam, on Dec
26, 2019 at Chennai
On December 20, 2019 Kartik Fine Arts presented the following awards in
Chennai - NRITHYA PEROLI on Malavika Sarukkai, NATYA CHUDAR on Varsha
Sankar, MADURA KALA MANI AWARD on Gopika Varma, NATYA JYOTI AWARD OF
EXCELLENCE IN BHARATANATYAM to Padmalaksshme Suresh.
Artists, gurus, art associations and art lovers of Hyderabad and
Secunderabad celebrated the hundredth birthday of centenarian Guru VS
Ramamurthy at Saptaparni, on Dec 19, 2019.
On December 14, 2019 Bharat Kalachar honored the following artistes at
YGP auditorium, Chennai: Pushkala Gopal - VISHWA KALA BHARATHI; Bragha
Bessell - ACHARYA KALA BHARATHI; K Sai Shankar (vocal), B Muthukumar
(flute), M Dhananjayan (mridangam) - NATYA SANGEETHA KALA BHARATHI;
Kavya Muralidharan, Chitra Lakshumanan, K Sarveshan and Shweta Prachande
for Bharatanatyam, Mahati Kannan for all rounder in music and dance -
YUVA KALA BHARATHI.
On December 12, 2019 Chennai Cultural Academy Trust conferred NRITHYA
KALA SIROMANI on the Dhananjayans and Roja Kannan, CCA Excellence Award
on Kavya Muralidharan, at Rama Rao Kala Mandap, Chennai.
Kapila Venu received the D APPUKUTTAN NAIR AWARD for young
Koodiyattam-Kathakali artiste instituted by Nepathya, on Dec 5, 2019 at
Aluva, Kerala.
Odissi dancer Ileana Citaristi received the ODISHA EXCELLENCE AWARD 2019 from Odia Media on Dec 1, 2019 at Bhubaneswar.
Bharatanatyam dancer Anita Sivaraman received NADANAMAMANI award from
Kartik Fine Arts on December 1, 2019 in Chennai. SVS Mani, Secretary of
Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha received KARTIK RAJAGOPAL ENDOWMENT AWARD for
best cultural organizer.
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UPDATE IN THE SITE |
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39th Natya Kala Conference
Impressions
LOOK OUT FOR
Navadhisha - New Voices in Dance was a dance conference convened by Apoorva Jayaraman in Chennai.
Day 2
Day 3
NEW RELEASE
Dance Under the Shadow of the Nation
Volume XXXIX, 2019
The special issue of CONVERSATIONS ACROSS THE FIELD OF DANCE is
co-edited by Dr.Arshiya Sethi and Prof. Tani Sebro, of the department of
Political Science, Humboldt University, and brought out by the Dance
Studies Association. Titled 'Dance Under the Shadow of the Nation,' it
is an anthology of eleven essays from dance and performance scholars who
examine the complex ways by which the nation, both in its umbra and
penumbra, impacts movement aesthetics. This is more significant coming
out at a time when nationalism and nationalist resurgences stand center
stage in global politics.
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THE EASTERN EYE: Column
by Dr.Utpal K Banerjee
Pickle Factory's Potpourri
From August 2018 to October 2019, Pickle Factory has been offering a
delectable dance fair to the dilettante of the city. There have been 30
programs; artistes have participated from the USA, the Philippines,
Lithuania, Switzerland, China, Wales and Australia, apart from India...
Choreographic foray: Contemporary, classical
End-November and early December saw quite a pleasant outburst of
choreographic creativity in the eastern metropolis, on both classical
and contemporary fronts. While Kathak brought out a novel linkage with
Baul singing, Odissi saw a wonderfully vivid tryst of the women dancers...
Feminine Vanguard of Kolkata theatre
If one attempts a very brief recapitulation of the thirteen major women
directorial talents active today in the Kolkata drama scene whose impact
on Bengali theatre has been nothing less than an artistic Tsunami,
Sohag Sen would stand foremost...
DANCE MATTERS: Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar
Vision 2020
So, as the Gregorian calendar year ends and a new one starts, what are our principle take home points?
PRISM
Contribution of male stage artistes to the evolution of Odissi dance
- Ileana Citaristi
An important role in the formation of what we define today as Odissi
dance was played in the first half of the 20th century by male artistes
belonging to the performing art scene of those days.
Classical dance vis-a-vis free thinking
- Dr. Utpal K Banerjee
Classical dance - while fully carrying forward its techniques and
treatment, and its highly developed aesthetics - should communicate to
the modern society for deriving its contents for 'sahitya', as other
sub-continental visual and performing arts have done in the recent
years.
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EVENTS
Chennai Season Schedule
Jan 1 - 20, Bangalore
Schedule for D Keshava of Kalasri, Switzerland.
- Jan 1: Performance for BENGALURU INTERNATIONAL CLASSICAL DANCE FESTIVAL, at Seva Sadan, 6.30pm
- Jan 7 and 8: Bharatanatyam workshop for Natyatharanga of Shuba Dhananjay, at Karana, Basaveshwaranagar, 2.30pm to 5.30pm
- Jan 20: Solo Bharatanatyam performance at ADA Rangamandira, 6pm
Jan 4, Chennai
Arangham Trust presents Mohana Harendran, daughter of late Guru Neila
Sathyalingam, from Singapore, at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore, 10am
to 12 noon.
Jan 4 and 12, Laxmeswar and Bangalore
- Jan 4: Rhythmotion presents VIVIDHA in Bharatanatyam and Kathak as
part of PULIGERE UTSAV at Laxmeswar, Gadag district, at 7:30 pm.
Direction and Choreography: Chitra Arvind
- Jan 12: Chitra Arvind presents solo Bharatanatyam with live music as
part of VRC Academy of Music and Dance Festival at Seva Sadan
Auditorium, Bengaluru, at 6:15pm.
Jan 5, Chennai
Srinidhi Raghavan, daughter/disciple of Usha Raghavan, performs for Brahma Gana Sabha, at Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium, 5pm
Jan 9 and 18, Ahmedabad & New Delhi
- 9th Jan, Ahmedabad: Astad Deboo presents a solo performance at MICA College
-18th Jan, New Delhi: Rasaja Foundation presents UNBROKEN UNBOUND by Astad Deboo and group at Chinmaya Auditorium 6.30pm
Jan 17 and 27, New Delhi
- Jan 17: Kuchipudi dance recital by Bhavana Reddy at India Habitat Centre, 6.30pm
- Jan 27: Rashmi Vaidialingam, senior Natya Tarangini disciple, presents
ETERNAL QUEST (Saints of the Bhakti movement) at Stein Auditorium,
India Habitat Centre, 7pm.
ARANGETRAM
Jan 5, Bangalore
Keerthana B, disciple of Kiran Subramanyam and Sandhya Kiran, Rasika Arts Foundation
At: ADA Rangamandira, J C Road, 6.30pm (Bharatanatyam)
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