A three-day national festival of choreography entitled ‘Rang Tarang’ was held at the Chowdaiah Memorial Hall under the joint auspices of the Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy and Academy of Music. The Academy under the leadership of its new president and a popular exponent of Kuchipudi natya Vyjayanthi Kashi put the right step forward in launching out its series of programmes. So, with the successful conduct of the festival Vyjayanthi certainly came out with a huge smile on her face. The efforts of CH Bhagya, registrar of the Academy were commendable. Workshops in Kathak, Kuchipudi natya, Odissi, Mohini Attam, Manipuri, Bharatanatyam and Contemporary dance were held in the morning and artistes drawn from the different parts of the country gave out their best in their respective performances.
The attendees in the workshops danced, enjoyed and were exposed to the salient techniques of different dance form. During the Kathak workshop under the direction of the legendary prima donna of Kathak Guru Dr. Maya Rao assisted by her daughter Madhu Nataraj and her disciples, the participants were introduced to the origin and technique of Kathak through salamis, tukdas and live music. The Odissi workshop was held under the guidance of Guru Aruna Mohanty. The singular features of Odissi like tribangas, chaukas, the peacock movements and the feel of the rain drop were demonstrated and were delightfully tried by the participants.
Veteran Guru Dr. Maya Rao’s choreography always glows with purity of tradition, genuine classicism and artistic and aesthetic exploration of the Kathak medium. Her adaptation of ‘Sare jahan se achcha’(‘Tarana-e-hindi’), the sensational national song written by Allama Iqbal to dance has been a spectacular one. It is an audio-video enchantment. The choreography has been done with caution and restraint, the key words in dealing with classical dance. Every line of the song has been thrillingly visualised through dance theatre and multi media production. Patriotism has been evoked at every stage of the production. The use of the slides of great personalities, manuscripts of Iqbal, landscapes, freedom struggle, different cultures etc have boosted up the themes presented on stage. The recorded music has been rich and rewarding.
The curtain of the choreographic festival of the Academy rose with the presentation of this outstanding colourful dance presentation. Besides Kathak, martial arts were also used. Like a many-layered matrix, the more you tried to decipher it the more mysteries it threw up. Maya Didi was creative, by all means, but within the syntax and structure that defines Kathak.
She has successfully attempted more by exploring every nook and cranny of the structure. Use of the Sanskrit shloka ‘Asatoma sadgamaya’ and tatkars by the highly talented lead dancers Madhu Nataraj and Tushar Bhat added variety. Janardhana Urs, Ponnamma, Ramya among other dancers with their mercurial movements and miming stole the show. The lovers of dance were held spellbound for about two hours.
Profound Odissi
Seasoned Odissi performer Aruna Mohanty and along with her team members was in her usual elements in presenting a profound Odissi dance. The Jagannath ashtak was followed by a neat and tidy elaboration of Khamach pallavi. The technical aspects of the form were artistically rendered. The way the Navarasas were delineated on the basis of various episodes drawn from Ramayana, amply testified to the abhinaya excellence of Aruna.
Dashavataras attract
A well trained Bharatanatya dancer Rekha Hegde along with her disciples Arpitha, Punya, Ramya, Amba, Dhanyasri and Sriraksha came out in flying colours in presenting Dashavataras. The ten incarnations by Lord Vishnu, in upholding the virtues and destroying the evil, were graphically presented by her on the basis of a composition ‘Paada sevipare paavana’ set to ragamalika by skilful singer DS Srivatsa. The nritta in between the avataras was purposeful.