HYDERABAD: A 17-year-old Sahana Sundar made her magnificent entry into the world of classical dance as a solo performer in her Bharatnatyam Arangetram held at Ravindra Bharati recently. Arangetram or Rangapravesam is a solo debut performance of a dancer after years of practice and learning. After the Arangetram one is qualified as teacher and professional dancer. Arangetram is a special moment for young dancers as they perform their first solo in front of teachers, family members and friends.
Sahana is a disciple of renowned dancer Padma Sri Ananda Shankar Jayant. she started her baby steps as a dancer at the age of seven and trained for almost 10 years in Shankarananda Kalakshetra, a 40-year-old premier institute for classical dance in Hyderabad. It has trained almost 1,000 classical dancers and Sahana’s Bharatanatyam Arangetram is 39th from that institution.
Arangetram is considered as an arduous task for young dancers to perform. The two-hour long performance consists of six items of Bharatanatyam, that requires much energy and confidence. The six items are Phuspanjali, Alaripu, Varnam, Devi Stuti, Killi Kanni, and Thillana. It was choreographed by her guru except Thillana which is composed by Rukmini Devi Arundale.
“Natabhairavi Thillana composed in the 1960s by my guru Rukmini Arundale and performed in 2019 by a 17-year-old, I think this is how traditional art forms are carried by the body, mind, and soul through generations,” said Ananda. Among the six items, Alaripu is the most difficult part to perform as it consists of a lot of footwork and abhinaya. The presence of her guru Ananda Shankar Jayant as Nattuvanar on orchestra wasn’t made it easy for Sahana. Nritta part (pure dance movements) of Alaripu was like a duel between guru and shishya. But Sahana did it with all the grace and energy. “ I was skeptical about the speed at which Ananda made this little girl to do the footwork, but Sahana did with perfection,” said guest of honor kalaimamani Rajeswari Sainath, a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer and guru.
“Sahana was seven-year-old child when she came to me. She is a quick learner with a good sense of music and continuously strives to do better what else as a teacher can I need. She made me proud today,” added Ananda. Venu Gopal, one of the spectators said, “I find it amazing. It is a difficult task. She displayed her energy through the most difficult parts of the dance.”
Along with dance Sahana is going to pursue bachelors in design and made promise her guru that she will come back to dance. “I took a promise from her that she will come back to dance again,” said Ananda.