HYDERABAD: Whether it is the subtle stylised expressions or alternating, racy and slow body movements, the Kuchipudi dance performance by the students of captivated the audience. The performance which began after the dancers paid their obeisances to their guru was marked by a beautiful presentation that showed glimpses of the many facets of the cosmic dance of Shiva, the adi guru. One of the most important stories of the Shiva Purana, the episode of the birth of Ganesha exquisitely enacted on the stage accompanied by the variegated spectrum of emotions through nimble movements and dramatic expressions is a testimony to the splendor of Kuchipudi --- a combination of ethereal grace and vibrant story-telling. Parvati is mortified when Shiva strikes off her son’s head in rage. However, the lord, after learning of the real identity of the boy sent out his gana to fetch the head of any being sleeping facing north. The gana then, brings the elephant head as a substitute to the severed head of the boy.
The eloquent facial expressions apart from angika-abhinayam (expression through body movements) all the way from agony to ecstasy were delightful. The surreal movements accentuated by the harmonious interplay of Abhinaya and Nrityya were indeed a feast to the connoisseurs of dance, despite lack of co-ordination between the dancers at various parts of the performance.