They speak and sing through dance. Bangalore-based Kiran Subramanyam and wife and co-performer Sandhya Kiran Sandhya have emerged as one of the most popular pairs of dancers. Recently, the couple has simplified the understanding of Carnatic music through Bharatanatyam. They have discovered the rhythms, texts and compositions through choreography in excerpts based on Ragam Tanam Pallavi (RTP) — a popular form and concept in Carnatic music. In the series devised by arts consultant Usha RK, Kiran conceived and choreographed the first excerpt of the RTP. A challenging composition of maestro, the legendary M Balamuralikrishna in Raga Gamanashramam based on Raja Navamukhi Talam was chosen for this experiment. “Ragam Tanam Pallavi has been rarely translated into the Bharatanatyam format as it is a huge challenge,” says Sandhya, who explored the concept that puts to test the talent and depth of knowledge of the performing musician. The translation of the purely technical aspects of “ragam” and “tanam” into a visual presentation seemed quite seamless and smooth. “The choreography and the performance were received extremely well by the stalwarts and the rasikas in the audience. It has been a fruitful experiment,” says Kiran.
Some of Kiran’s most interesting works include Ashta Nayika Varnam — a traditional varnam treated differently. The lyrics are used to depict all the Ashta Nayikas or the eight phases of a woman in love.
Since Kiran firmly believes in the format of Bharatanatyam, his works majorly revolve around the traditional pieces. His work with the compositions of Thyagaraja and Deekshitar and several numbers from the Bharatanatyam Margam deserve a special mention. Kiran, the embellishment gives his work an unorthodox visualisation and interpretations to the traditional compositions. Ghanashyam, a mega contemporary musical theatrical production conceived by world-renowned sitar maestro late Pandit Ravi Shankar in 1990 is one of their noteworthy works. The couple performed major roles in this work and did 25 shows all over India. Ghanashyam was an amalgamation of kathak and bharatnatyam and the theme revolved around Ghanshyam, a kathak guru who takes to drugs.
Kiran and Sandhya studied with Guru Padmini Ravi in Bangalore. They decided to spend the rest of their lives together. Finances were tight. The couple started learning the nuances of duet from the Dhananjayans in Chennai. They would return to Bangalore every fortnight to take classes to be able to pay for their training. “Once the Dhananjayans realised that we would rush back to teach our students, they waivered the fee. They promoted us,” says Kiran.
In 1989, the Kirans opened Rasika, the Academy of Performing Arts with five students. They have trained 250 students in Bharatanatyam at Rasika. Apart from Bharatanatyam, Rasika experiments with other Indian dance styles—folk, martial arts and fusion. “Youngsters are guru hopping these days. They are in a hurry to perform and want instant success without much practice,” rues Kiran. Unlike many dancers, the duo makes it a point to watch as many dance recitals in the city, as possible. “Unfortunately there is too much politics and unhealthy competition amongst dancers in Bangalore, even politicians from opposing political parties have better rapport and friendships with each other, than we dancers!” laments Kiran.