Governor Sheila Dikshit will inaugurate Nupuradhwani Dance Festival, being organised under the aegis of the Padmashree Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair Smaraka Gurukulam, Poojappura, on April 8.
The three-day festival is being held as part of the birth centenary celebrations of Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair in association with Nupura Nritha Vidyalayam at Theerthapada Mandapam here.
On April 7, Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair Memorial Awards instituted by the gurukulam will be presented to Kathakali maestro Chemanchery Kunhiraman Nair and ‘Maddalam’ exponent Kalamandalam Narayanan Nambeesan. Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi of the erstwhile Travancore royal family will give away the awards comprising a cash prize of Rs 10,001 and memento.
Pramod P R of Palakkad will be given the Changarappalli Aniyan Smarka Award instituted this year. The award carries a prize of Rs 5,001 and memento.
Gurukulam director K R Kurup and secretary Nelliyodu Vasudevan Namboodiri told a news conference here on Friday that the festival will begin with ‘Devimahatmyam’, a Bharatanatyam performance choreographed by the school’s former student, Binesh Mahadevan.
Lakshmi Kurup, a noted US-based artiste, will present a dance performance in which the students of Nupura will also participate. The organisers said it will be a folk dance presentation on ‘Amma’, an O N V Kurup poem.
Kathakali, Bharatanatyam and Kathak artistes will also be featured in the festival. Manisha Guliyani will conduct a workshop on Kathak from April 10 to 25.