BENGALURU: Suma Rajesh’s solo Bharatnatyam performance Nrithyaradane, at the Shivaraathreeshawara Centre, JSS Auditorium, Jayanagar 8th Block on Sunday showed the dancer’s poise and mastery. Suma, a disciple of Karnataka Kalashree B Bhanumathi and Nritya Nipune Sheela Chandrasekhar, impressed the appreciative audience, which included her gurus, Karnataka Kalashree Dwarki Krishnaswamy, BTM Cultural Academy president K N Anantharamaiah and art and dance historian Karuna Vijayendra.
Suma set the tone for the evening with Choornike of the Mysore tradition, in praise of Goddess Sharade followed by Poorva Rangavidhi of the Mysore Wadiyar Aasthana tradition in praise of Lord Ganesha, composed by late Venkatalakshmamma in Arabhi Raga and Adi Tala.
The dancer then rendered a piece choreographed by her guru Sheela Chandrasekhar in praise of Goddess Lakshmi. The Krithi—Kanjadalayathaakshi, is composed by Muthuswamy Dikshitar in Kamalamanohari and set to Adi Tala.
Describing her next performance, Bhuvana Sundarana, a Varnam, Kalashree Dwarki Krishnaswamy, who composed it, said Suma seemed to have seen Lord Krishna during the rendering. In the theme, the nayika is longing to meet Krishna and in the second half of Varnam the nayika is with Krishna playing raas and enjoying his company.Choreographed by her other guru B Bhanumati, it is in the Khamaach Raga and set to Adi Tala.
After a Padam and a Krithi, Suma came up with a Kannada Geethe - Houdene Uma, a lively piece about the mother of Uma who is shocked at finding her daughter in love with Lord Shiva who she thinks is a vagabond and mendicant. Composed by G S Shivarudrappa, it was choreographed by Sheela Chandrasekhar. She then held the audience in rapt attention with a Thillana in praise of Lord Subrahmanya before the Dashaavatara Mangalam, the concluding piece wherein the dancer expresses her gratitude to God, her gurus, the musicians and all the art lovers who have gathered to witness her performance.
Sheela Chandrasekhar on the nattuvangam, D S Srivatsa, vocals, Narayanaswamy on the mridangam, Narasimha Murthy on the flute, Shankar Raman on the veena and Karthik Vydhatri on the kanjira, morsing and rhythm pad formed the ensemble.
Suma’s early training was under Kannan Marar, when she was only eight, after which she trained under Ambale Rajeshwari of Hassan and Kripa Phadke of Mysore. She has performed on various stages like the Mahamastakabhisheka, Hoysala Mahotsava and the well known Naada Neerajanam programme conducted by the TTD in Tirumala.
As a member of the famed Bharatanjali troupe of Bhanumathi, she has performed at venues like the Bharan Naatyanjali, Thanjavur, Karur Naatyanjali Festival and at the Ragvendra Mutt, Mantrayalam.
Suma has been running the Spoorthy School of Dance in Bangalore since 2002.