October 2025
ANITA SAYS.....
Even in the midst of hard conversations, there must be laughter
Even as we carry uncomfortable truths, we must carry each other
- American poet laureate, JOY HARJO
Here are my thoughts at the end of this year's Navaratri season.
This is my favourite time in India. The daily GOLU visits to friends old
and new. Houses decorated with colourful dolls and figurines from the
epics - some handed down from mother to daughter over 50 and 60 years
ago. The chatter of women's voices. The chickpea SUNDAL snack that is
served everywhere. October 2nd is the end of the festival and
DUSSERA - the 10th day - is celebrated as VIJAYA DASAMI in South India.
It is not just the marker for Devi Durga's triumph over darkness,
ignorance and sloth but also a new awakening of the mind and the body to
fresh possibilities. This is the season for new beginnings, especially
fresh learning. Account books are balanced, Goddess Lakshmi
worshipped, Saraswati invoked and manufacturing pauses on the 9th day to
honour the machines and devices that we use daily. Writers place books,
painters their brushes, musicians their instruments and dancers their
ankle bells. IPads and laptops, anything that is part of the profession,
is placed in the sacred prayer space. On that day, we are supposed to
pause and rest; for dancers, it is our body, the machine. That is the
main instrument which creates the art of dance.
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TAKITATOM
Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts presented DANCE UNBOUND from Sept 20 to 28, a celebration of CHITRA VISWESWARAN's
75th year with music, dance and a special exhibition featuring rare
photographs, archives, and stories, along with a series of talks and
performances in Chennai.
At the 13th International Documentary Film Festival Noida, the film
MOVEMENT OF LIFE was honored with a Special Jury Mention in the
15-minute category. It is an initiative of Riyom Society shining a
spotlight on Manipuri dancer SHROBHANA MITRA DAS, a teacher and movement
therapist whose work reveals how dance can be far more than
performance.
ZEROING IN is a series of performances being presented as part of the
Living Legacy Project by ADITI MANGALDAS that aims to present, award,
commission and facilitate dialogue, by inviting young exceptional dance
artistes.
INDUMATI RAMAN's second book DANCE-THEATRE OF THANJAVUR MARATHA
RAJAS-DESIGN AND RHETORIC OF MARATHI YAKSHAGANAMS is published by the
oldest and largest publisher of Indology books, Motilal Banarasidass
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
LOOK OUT FOR
1989 - Excerpts from a solo dance
'1989' is a 70-minute solo choreographed as first initiative of the new
production house launched by NarenJayan Studio on 95th birth anniversary
of renowned choreographer Narendra Sharma on September 21, 2018. Dancer
is Subhasish Dey.
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AWARDS
Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai
Nataka Mandram, a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, government
of Tamil Nadu will give the KALAIMAMANI AWARD to the following in an
official function to be presided over by Tamil Nadu chief minister in
October. The Kalaimamani awardees will receive a gold medal and a
shield. Some of the awardees include Vazhuvoor S Palaniappan Pillai, Amutha Dandapani, Priya Karthikeyan and Dhanasundari for Bharatanatyam, Jayapriya Vikraman for Kuchipudi and Swamimalai Suresh for sangeetham.
Muthukannammal has been named for the Balasaraswathi Award for Dance.
During its 75th year celebrations, The Mylapore Academy presented the
DHARMATMA: DR. V VAIDYASUBRAMANIA IYER CENTENARY AWARD OF EXCELLENCE to The Dhananjayans at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai, on September 13, 2025.
Aditi Mangaldas was honored with the NRITYA SAMRAT AWARD at the
Guru Wickramasinghe Nritya Samrat Mahotsav, Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sept
14, 2025. This prestigious recognition is certified by ICCR Sri Lanka,
Guru Wickramasinghe Gandharva Vidyalaya and Edgevin Vihan Company. She
received this recognition from Guru Upeka Chitrasena.
Trinetra Kala Kunja in association with Department of Odia Language,
Literature and Culture, Government of Odisha, presented the following
awards at the 5th International Trinetra Award Festival at Bhanja Kala
Mandap, Bhubaneswar on 20th September 2025.
TRINETRA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2025 to Guru Harihara Mohanty (Odissi dance) and Guru Simanchal Dash (Odissi sangeet)
INTERNATIONAL TRINETRA AWARD 2025 to Odissi dance Guru Dr. Sujata Mishra, Atasi Mishra (Odissi dance), Sangeeta Panda (Odissi singer & composer) and Sankarsan Mohapatra (social worker)
INTERNATIONAL TRINETRA YUVA PRATIVA AWARD 2025 to four young Odissi dancers - Kishor Dalei, Jagyandatta Pradhan, Bijayalaxmi Ojha and Pratyasha Panigrahi.
INTERNATIONAL TRINETRA SISHU PRATIVA AWARD 2025 to Souroshree Debnath (Kathak), Sai Durga Nayak, Priyanka Priyadarshini and Bijayalaxmi Shrichandan for Odissi dance.
Aatmalaya Academy, Bangalore, will bestow the AATMALAYA VAGGEYAKKAR AWARD on PS Krishnamoorthy
(music director, Carnatic and Hindustani vocalist, composer and
multi-instrumentalist) from Mumbai on November 8, 2025. The Sangeet
Natak Akademi, Thrissur, will host the function at their auditorium in
Thrissur, Kerala.
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ATMA SHANTI
Senior
Kathak dancer, creator and educator, Guru RINA SINGHA passed away in
Toronto on September 1, 2025 after a brief illness. She was born in
Kolkata in 1937. She trained with Kathak master Shambu Maharaj
(1910-1970) at Delhi's Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra. In 1960 Rina moved
to London and toured Europe both as a soloist and with the
internationally acclaimed company of Ram Gopal. She moved to Toronto in
1965.
From 1971-1976 she taught
dance theory and history at York University. With a Masters in
Education, she developed A Cultural Approach to Learning, a
multiculturalism-focused educational program for school visits. In the
1970s, inspired by her daughter Vinita's deafness, Rina was also one of
Canada's first dance artistes to run programming especially for deaf
children. She founded two teaching institutions: the Kathak Institute of
Toronto in 1982 and the Rina Singha Kathak Dance Organization in 1992.
Coming to Canada in 1965 at a time
when most non-mainstream dance was seen as 'quaint' or 'exotic', Singha
made it her life's mission to ensure that the beauty of her art form
would be recognized and appreciated both for its depth of technique and
its message. A solo Kathak performer for over 50 years, Rina has
choreographed traditional and experimental works that reflect her life
experiences and social issues related to life in Canada such as Songs
From Exile Walls, Lullabye and Lament, Prithvi (an Earth Narrative) and
full length Biblical works including The Seekers: from the Garden of
Eden to the Walls of Jericho. She also collaborated with acclaimed
choreographer Danny Grossman. Rina is recognized internationally as a
leader in the field of Christian dance.
Rina Singha's career as a pioneer and
trailblazer in many facets of dance has been recognized with numerous
national and international awards including the Dance Ontario
Award, the Pioneer Skills for Change du Maurier Award, the William
Kilbourne Lifetime Achievement Award, the Grant Community Achievers 2008
award, the Internationally Juried Award for Excellence in Performing
Arts for her Biblical dances, and the Canada Council Arts A Award for
Choreography.
Bharatanatyam Guru A SARADA HOFFMAN (14 June 1929 - 14 Sept 2025)
popularly known as Chinna Sarada, is no more. She was 96. One of Rukmini
Devi's earliest students, she also trained under Pandanallur
Chokkalingam Pillai and Dandayudhapani Pillai. She honed her music
skills under maestros Mysore Vasudevacharya and MD Ramanathan. From
Gurus Ambu Panicker and Chandu Panicker she received training in
Kathakali. She completed her studies in 1947 and was appointed a teacher
and lead dancer in Kalakshetra.
Sarada Hoffman has rendered yeoman service to dance. Initially, she
performed extensively with the Kalakshetra troupe and later concentrated
on teaching and composing in Bharatanatyam style. She was the main
strength behind Kalakshetra's training activity and is credited with
maintaining the distinct quality of its technique and style. She was
instrumental in standardising a Kalakshetra methodology for
Bharatanatyam.
A number of eminent Kalakshetra trained artistes like Yamini
Krishnamurti, Adyar Lakshman, C.V. Chandrasekhar, The Dhananjayans,
Krishnaveni Lashmanan, Ambika Buch, Kala Ramesh, Savitri Jagannatha Rao,
Balagopalan, Janardanan, Neila Satyalingam to name a few, had the
benefit of training under her guidance. After her retirement as head of
the dance department in 1989, she continued to serve Kalakshetra as an
emeritus member of the faculty until 1996.
She was living in the US with her son Krishna and daughter Geeta in the
last few years of her life. Sarada Hoffman received many honors
including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1996) and the first 'Rukmini Devi
Medal for Excellence in the Arts' established by the Centre for
Contemporary Culture, New Delhi, in 2001. Madras Music Academy honoured
her with their coveted award of 'Sangita Kala Acharya'.
To Teacher with love
- VP Dhananjayan
Sarada Teacher was known for her precision as a Bharatanatyam artiste...
Bharatanatyam dancer DR. VIJAYAMBIGAI INDRAKUMAR passed away on July 10, 2025 aged 81.
Remembering and reflecting on my first dance teacher and idol
- Uma Palam Pulendran
She was my first "idol of dance" - my diva dancer.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
 Indian dance through the eyes of a Yogini - Kapila Vatsyayan
- Dr. Navina Jafa
Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, the AdiShakti of Indian dance, culture, and
civilization has a background of a performer, an academician,
institution creator and a cultural administrator where she was able to
engineer significant policies that impacted all aspects of Indian dance.
Yamini: The enigma
- Leela Venkataraman
Words fail me even as I try hard to capture in writing, the magic of
that meteor, streaking across the skies and illuminating the dance world
- adding a different texture to Indian dance history.
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