July 2025
ANITA SAYS.....
If my time has come
I don't want anyone to beg
Not even you
I don't need that sniveling
I am but a wild soul
Exiled even from my own group
Even if a bullet pierces my skin
I will still enrage and attack
Wouldn't and poison I'll take running
Running
Until the pain leaves
And I will care even less
I want to leave-live a thousand more years
- AKU, a poem by Indonesian poet Chairil Anwar
We are already in the second half of 2025... six months gone and six months to go!
This July there are some aspects of our dance world that I wish to focus
on. Matters outside the stage and issues that we need to look at
without swiping or scrolling. As a senior in the discourse, I wish to
bring attention to matters of attitude, intention and action for the
younger generation of dance artistes and anyone wishing to commit their
time and energy to this world of the creative arts. A world that gives
us so much but also demands so much more. An art form that opens our
heart and also makes us cranky and infantile at times. Dance that
exhilarates in the doing but the eco system that pushes down depresses.
In times of crisis, we realise that there is so little unity and
camaraderie. Unlike the film fraternity that has a forum for redressal
of issues, dancers are left in the lurch during times of professional
and personal crisis leading to great mental strain and loss of
reputation.
This is also ARANGETRAM season and overseas tours for many classical
musicians and dancers. Ask any dance guru in India and they will moan
about the lack of musicians to accompany these debut shows, almost
everyone being in the USA for the summer swing of Arangetrams!
Read more
or
Use the audio control (at the top of the page in the website) to listen to the editorial
|
QUOTE
Dancers are complex movement artistes. They have to be
contortionists, martial artists, poets, storytellers and sculptors all
at once. They do not just bring an idea to life when they dance but
create life itself in each moment. From the slightest quiver of the lip
and the fleeting angle of the eye to the gentle tremble of a finger, all
come together to express a single nuanced expression.
- Surupa Sen
('The dance of the mind', The Hindu Friday Review, 20 June 2025)
|
TAKITATOM
As of June 23, 2025
all applicants for US visas F, M, J and all non-immigrant visas to
switch their privacy settings of their social media accounts to PUBLIC
to facilitate vetting which is said was necessary to establish their
identity and admissibility to the US under law. This has been
described as a "national security decision" by Homeland Security.
Visa officers will search all user names and handles applicants have
used in the last 5 years. "Omitting social media information could lead
to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas".
India's Ministry of External Affairs has responded by asserting that such applications should be assessed strictly on merit.
Guru G VENU celebrates 50 years of his institution Natanakairali
Irinjalakuda as well as his 80th birthday on July 1 with the world
premiere of 'Mricchakatikam' in Kutiyattam.
HEMA RAJAGOPALAN's NATYA DANCE THEATRE that has been a home for Bharatanatyam for five decades, celebrate 50 years of Natya in 2025.
MALATI IYENGAR'S RANGOLI DANCE COMPANY celebrated their 40th anniversary
with Moksha on June 28, 2025 at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Hollywood.
The publication of MOVING STILLNESS: South Asian Dance through the lens
of Simon Richardson is a luxurious hardback production that features
more than eighty stunning images taken over the last 30 years.
DR. CHANDRABHANU's 75th birthday on June 8 was celebrated by his
Bharatalaya Academy with 'Bharatam Reprise' on June 7 & 8, 2025 at
Melbourne. He celebrated his birthday by taking to the stage at both
shows. The production was a re-staging of several masterpiece dance
creations choreographed by Dr Chandrabhanu for the Bharatam Dance
Company.
VYOMGAMI is a documentary film on the life and work of Bharatanatyam dancer and guru SUCHETA BHIDE CHAPEKAR.
JAI GOVINDA's book 'SIMPLY BHARATA NATYAM' has been released by Mandala
Arts and Culture. It is a simple introduction to the various aspects of
the dance form. This hardbound book is supported by some 50 beautiful
pictures and illustrations..
|
AWARDS
 At
the 36th annual day celebrations of ABHAI on July 5, at Chennai, the
following artistes receive awards for 2025: NATYA KALANIDHI: NS
Jayalakshmi and Krishnakumari Narendran, PRAVASI NATYA KALANIDHI: Ramli
Ibrahim, NRITHYA PERUNJYOTHI: Roja Kannan, NARTHAKA NIPUNA: L Narendra
Kumar, GANDHARVA NIPUNA: Nandini Anand, NAATAR KALAI VITHAGAR:
Thilagavathi Palani, YUVA NRITHYA SADHAKA: Shruthi Krishnaswamy and
Aishwarya Rajkumar.
The winners of the 2024 UK NATIONAL DANCE AWARDS were announced on June 9
at a ceremony at The Barbican Centre, London. Diversity of dance genre
was the big winner in this year's awards.
The DANCING TIMES AWARD for Best Male Dancer was jointly awarded to
hip-hop performer TOMMY FRANZÉN and Kathak dancer AAKASH ODEDRA. It was
the first time that this award has been won by a dancer in either
discipline.
AAKASH ODEDRA won the OUTSTANDING MALE CLASSICAL PERFORMANCE AWARD for
Mehek, the first time in 25 years that this award has been won by a
dancer outside of ballet.
BEST FEMALE DANCER goes to ERINA TAKAHASHI as Giselle in Akram Khan's Giselle.
Laasya Academy of Dance presented the LAASYA PURUSHA AWARD to Kathak
dancer MYSORE B NAGARAJ, and Kuchipudi dancer DR. SANJAY SHANTARAM on
June 7, at Seva Sadan, Bangalore.
Dancer-choreographer SONIA SABRI, artistic director of Sonia Sabri
Company, has been honoured with an MBE for her services to dance at the
King's Birthday on June 14.
SUJATA VINJAMURI and VINITHA SUBRAMANIAN received the LIFETIME
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD at the 2025 American Natya Festival by Soorya
Performing Arts on June 14, at St Louis, MO.
Sattriya dancer and researcher DR. MALLIKA KANDALI received the BISHNU
RABHA AWARD from the Assam govt at Nalbari, Assam, on June 20.
Natyanjali presented the NARTAKA AWARDS for 5 years at the Nartaka
Festival held in Bangalore, on June 22. The awardees are MADURAI R
MURALIDHARAN for 2020, DR. SRIDHAR VASUDEVAN for 2021, KIRAN SUBRAMANYAM
for 2023, M LAKSHMINARAYANA SAMAGA for 2024 and TD RAJENDRA for 2025. |
ATMA SHANTI
RADHA BHASKAR MENON (September 28, 1948 – May 22, 2025)
Eminent classical dancer-guru Radha Bhaskar Menon, wife of Bhaskar Menon
and founder of Mudra School of Indian Classical Dances established in
1973 in Ahmedabad, passed away on 22 May 2025 at the age of 77, leaving
behind a luminous legacy. A maestro of Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi,
Mohiniattam, and Kathakali, she nurtured the art for over five decades.
Her legacy continues through her children Ananth Menon, Aparna Kiran
Menon, Smidha Menon, and granddaughter Vaishnavi Menon who now carry the
torch of Mudra with love, dedication and grace.
Radha was the recipient of many awards including Gujarat State Sangeet
Natak Akademi's 'Gaurav Puraskar,' Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's
'Sanskar Chora Award', 'Sringar Mani' from Sur Sringar Samsad, Mumbai,
and 'ASIA Ratna' award from ASIA Charitable Trust.
More info:
Radha Bhaskar Menon: A life in rhythm, a legacy in grace
- Bijoy Anand Shivram and Neethi Srikumar
Bharatanatyam dancer ANITA MENON who established Portland's Anjali School of Dance and also worked on Western theater projects, passed away on June 3, 2025.
More info:
Remembering dancer, choreographer and teacher Anita Menon
- Subashini Ganesan-Forbes and Sarah Jane Hardy
Kathak exponent and mentor MANGALA BHATT (1963 - 2025) passed
away on June 16, 2025 in Hyderabad after a brief illness. She was 62.
She is survived by husband Kathak artiste Raghav Raj Bhatt and son
Madhav.
Mangala was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra and received her initial
education there. She trained at Kathak Kendra institute in New Delhi on a
national scholarship. At Kathak Kendra, Mangala initially trained under
Guru Kundanlal Gangani and later took advanced training under Kathak
maestro Pt Durga Lal, from whom she absorbed his brilliant technique and
mastered the dazzling cadence and subtle nuances of Kathak.
Along with her husband Raghav Raj Bhatt, she founded Aakruti Kathak
Kendra, a premier Kathak institution in Hyderabad in 1990. Mangala and
Raghav Raj Bhatt (disciples of Pt Durga Lal and Pt Birju Maharaj
respectively) were a dance duo that brought together the confluence of
two distinct styles of Kathak, representing Jaipur Gharana and Lucknow
Gharana. They have been conferred with the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi
Award for their lifetime contribution to the field of Kathak, and the
State Award by Chief Minister of Telangana.
|
FROM THE ARCHIVES
To cluck, or not to click
- Ranjana Dave
It is best for me to commence with one pointer - the camera.
Pavakathakali
- Kapila Venu
Pavakathakali or Puppet Kathakali is an art form that has had its share
in making Kathakali, the classical dance theatre of Kerala, popular even
from the time of its evolution.
|
|
