Creative Spirit - Veena and Bharatanatyam - March 2015

"Creative spirit " an innovative dance and music presentation that was staged on the 7th of March 2015 on the occasion of Trinity Festival of Indian Arts academy, Melbourne. Dancing to the soulful stringing of Rajesh Vaidya's Veena was Kavya , who in her own way showed that dance can be a dramatic way of communication beyond culture and language. Dance transcends geography and language, which music may not . As Rajesh Vaidya played varieties in music Kavya danced to the same with no prior rehearsal , it was lucid and spontaneous , and this was well received by the audience who were totally engrossed in it . 

Thanks to Rajesh Vaidya, Suresh Babu , Parameswaran , Yogan Kandasamy , and Kannan for their wonderful support.

Thanks to Sri Ramachandran Muralidharan

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Murchhana - The Spirit of Sangeet - In Kuchipudi - 2015

 Kuchipudi Production Murchhana:

Music is at the heart of dance. They merge together and present unison of purpose. Inspiration to showcase the synergy and then to invoke creativity to portray the various merger of the weaving is what makes Murchhana, indeed the very essence of Life.  

Amrita Lahiri performed Murchhana- the Spirit of Sangeet in Kalakshetra Foundation on 7th February 2015. 

Murchhana was conceptualized by renowned dancer Sharmia Biswas (founder Odissi Vision and Movement Center, Kolkata). She is a senior disciple of the legendary Guru, Kelucharan Mohapatra

Here is what she says about her concept, Murchhana- the Spirit of Sangeet, in her words:

The story of Murchhana I had started almost twenty years back. It had several versions, each approaching the story from different angle.

The Murchhana which I created for Amrita is a solo version. The story remains the same....as the basic framework is from Indian mythology. The style of presentation and music have been deliberately done with strong Kuchipudi accent.

Amrita adds- 

Conceptualised by Sharmila Biswas, Murchhana is based on stories from the oral tradition of the khol players of rural Orissa. These stories have roots in the Puraanas but have evolved into many branches, being told over generations.

The khol players of Orissa interpret sangeet as a combination of the three- nritya, geeta, vadya- plus a fourth element- the life- which is interpreted as Murchhana.

The story begins with a dialogue between the singer and dancer comparing the physical body to sangeet. Just as a physical body is lifeless without its soul, in that same way, sangeet comes alive with Murchhana- its soul. The singer asks what is the use of physical expertise without spirit? And what is this spirit? What is it that makes sangeet worthwhile and takes it towards Moksha? It is.......... Murchhana

The credits for the support: Mentor- Sharmila Biswas, Nattuvangam- Guru Jaikishore Mosalikanti, Vocal and music composition- Sudha Raghuraman, Mridangam- Shri Haribabu, 
Violin- Shri Easwar Ramakrishnan.

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Report- Kalakshetra Foundation Jatayu Moksham - February 2015

7th February 2015

Kalakshetra Foundation

Jatayu Moksham

Balgangdhara Rang Mandir

Pune

- A Report from Sri Pandithar Sivakumar Perumal

Kalakshetra foundation Chennai’s first performance at Pune takes off supremely with Jatayu Moksham. Held at the Balgandharv Rang Mandir on the evening of Saturday, 7th February 2015. The dance drama choreographed by legendary doyen of Bharatanatyam Smt. Rukhminidevi Arundale in 1965.

Simply beautiful is just a term to describe how it was, but you may not just call it so. Pure, perfect full of precision. I think such productions are so minutely analysed before it is staged, that is the hallmark of Kalakshetra, which stands for quality.

The simple set, the costume selection, which has always been talked about of being Kalakshetra style of costume. The dancers who have put in so much hard word is evident from their performance itself. The abhinaya of the artists, their “aramandi”, their “angashuddhi” are few of the criteria which showcases the class of an artist, full marks to them on these aspects. For all those in rasikas aspiring to be an artist these are classic examples of how it should be done.

 The dance drama is filled with very interesting episodes like when Rama and Lakshmana attempt to catch the golden deer maaricha, well conceived and well presented too, the nimble footwork and the beauty of gentle dance using the entire stage. The instance where dialogue between Surpanakha, Rama and Lakshmana showcased intense reactions from the artists, speaking to a rakshashee, while Sita and Ravana disguised as sage had its moments too, the choreographers eye to detail comes forte yet again, the expressions of the artists are wonderful. The disappearing of ravana as a demon king and replaced by ravana the sage was magnificent. The fight sequence too were very well executed, what a mastery these artists have gained

 Well supported by the vocal and the musicians, the dance drama was the finest to be staged yet, and this being the very first occasion of the institution of dance. The audience applauded the performance with thundering standing ovation to the entire team. On this occasion the current director of Kalakshetra Ms. Priyadarshini Govind was the guest of honour, and such performance by her institute will be another proud moment for her. Meghana Sabade’s, Nrityayatri institution was instrumental in bringing the production to Pune. Thankful of Nrityayatri and looking forward to more.

Pandithar Sivakumar Perumal
spandithar@yahoo.com

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