CHENNAI: As the hub of Bharatanatyam, Chennai has witnessed a plethora of talents over the years. For many artistes, performing before an audience of thousands is a dream come true. While there’s a huge fan base and many opportunities in the city, the rest of the State is still not aware of the cultural dances and their impact.
With many believing talented learned artistes are produced in Chennai, Divyanjali Dance School initiated an annual dance festival, Kalaarpanam, which was held for two days this year. It concluded on Sunday. The festival focused on uplifting talented artists around and inside the state, who do not have enough opportunities to showcase their talents to bigger crowds.
S Divyasena, director, Divyanjali, said, “Stage performances require more money, and many good dancers are deprived of it due to lack of funds. There are many talents around with little chance to deliver their best. This festival focused on blending knowledge and opportunity by making the public more aware of these artistes.”
The festival saw participants from the outskirts of Chennai and Hyderabad. As the number of classical dancers and carnatic musicians is high in Chennai, Divyasena found it important to create awareness about the art form in other cities.
“Performing in Chennai is very important. Not many artistes get the opportunity to perform before live audiences. My students were extremely happy to perform at the dance city of the State. This brings them a lot of hope and confidence,” said Pramod Kumar Reddy, classical dancer.