Amrita Lahiri Presentation "Samudra- Mother Ocean" - At Serendipity Arts Festival - New Delhi - April 2017

"Samudra- Mother Ocean"

Amrita Lahiri 
Serendipity Arts Festival
April 6th, 2017

Amrita presents Samudra at the Serendipity Arts Festival. Here is a note about the production.

Within each of us is an ocean pregnant with possibilities for creation. Tagore in his poem ‘Samudrer Proti’ addresses the Ocean as the eternal mother of the earth. She is not the stereotyped mother brimming with tenderness and self-sacrifice, put on a pedestal. Rather, she is naïve, impulsive, powerful, animal-like, fallible, contradictory- an everyday mother.

According to the Book of Genesis, on the third day, God commanded the waters to recede, and make dry land appear. That is the most well known of the stories of the creation. It is matched by legends from several other ancient cultures that speak of the emergence of the universe from an infinite expanse of waters. Tagore in this poem imagines a primordial sea in the process of giving birth to the world, tied to it by an infinitely deep love and longing, almost like a mother’s ties to its child, sometimes fierce and raging resulting in tsunamis, sometimes a gentle lullaby rhythm.

Samudrer Proti gives beautiful imagery for choreography and music, even when we have not used the lines literally. The music is composed by Sudha Raghuraman.

‘Hey Adi Janani Sindhu…’
O Eternal Mother Ocean…
I am earth’s child, sitting on your bank,
Listening to your sound.

I’m thinking, one can understand some of your secrets
Like a relative understands a mute person’s sign language.
It seems, in the midst of my heart, the blood that flows in the veins
Knows the same language, and has not learnt anything else.

It seems, as though I remember, when I was one with
The unborn embryo that was this world in that huge womb of yours
For millions of years your restless musical note
Inside me has gotten imprinted.

That pre-birth memory, on the earth, which is in your womb
That eternal life-pulse of your maternal heart- very slight, muted-
Like a hint, rises throughout my body,
-a few select verses from translated from Tagore’s Bengali poem ‘Samudrer Proti’



Dance Choreography: Amrita Lahiri
Music Composition: Sudha Raghuraman
Percussion: Shambhu Bhattacharjee
Flute: Raghuraman
Mridangam: Chandrasekhar
Nattuvangam: Kesavan

Invite

PriyaLasya, (C), Do Not Copy, Copyrights Acknowledged

Abhinava Sundara Rasanam -Program Note - Bharatanatyam - June 2015

All are invited for a spectacular & colourful dance showcase ABHINAVA-SUDARA-RASANAM presented by Bhuvana Venkatesh, Artistic Director,  Nrithyanivedhan school of dance, San Jose, June 27,2015 at Shirdi Sai Parivaar in Milpitas, California between 3:00 P.M & 6:00 P.M 

ABHINAVA means New or Nascent , SUNDARA means Beauty , RASANAM means Appreciation.

Appreciating the nascent beauty of the divine art form of Bharathanatyam through the varied eyes of a learner, a dancer , a choreographer , a Guru and mainly you the Rasikas – the onlookers of all ages! Beauty and wonder of the artform at the peripheral level and transcending beyond what one can perceive and understand by just mere appreciation. “Kimartham punah punah? “ – is a Sanskrit term we use for questioning as to “Why Again and Again?” What is it in this great artform that we are delighted in catching a glimpse of the same either by just being an onlooker or feeling one with it Again and Again! Is there newness everytime the art is done, what is this newness bringing into us ? Is it the feeling of the one with the divine or the one with that something which is universal in you and me , the newness of that oneness within all! 

    The director says " In appreciating the ART , we appreciate life as well . In finding the nascent beauty we find that newness in our inner beauty as well! " 

 Guru  Bhuvana Venkatesh , Principal dancer - Harshitha Venkatesh and Students of Nrithyanivedhan School of Dance will be sharing the beauty of the artform with everyone at ABHINAVA-SUNDARA-RASANAM. 

For more information :  www.nrithyanivedhan.com
*from nrithyanivedhan
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Samarpana – An evening of Mohiniyattam :: Program Note - April 2015

Samarpana – An evening of Mohiniyattam :: Program Note - April 2015

Samarpana – An evening of Mohiniyattam By Tapasya (Amrutha, Bindu, Manjulekha, Vinaya) On 17th April 2015 , 6 pm Sevasadan,

14TH Cross Road, West Park Road,

Malleshwaram, Bangalore

Tapasya - an Indian classical dance group, formed by a group of passionate dancers who extend their dreams beyond their professional and family realms. The dancers having trained under the famous Mohiniyattam exponent Kerala Karnataka Kalashree Guru Sreedevi Unni, have performed at various prestigious dance festivals like MohiniNrithyotsav, World Dance day, Hampi festival and ISKON in addition to also performing on stage at Guruvayoor, Raveendra Kalakshetra, Chowdaiah hall amongst others.

Tapasya presents “Samarpana” as a Dakshina to their Guru, who guided them into the enchanting world of Mohiniyattam and helped them pursue their passion for dancing. This program will be held at Sevasadan Auditorium, 14th Cross, West Park Road, Malleshwaram on 17th April 2015.

In a step away from the traditional format, the narthakis have composed a unique format of the invocatory Item – Cholkettu as a special dedication piece to the guru. This rendition is a combination of shlokas invoking Lord Ganesha, Bhoomi Devi, Shiva and Krishna ending with the shloka - Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu.

The evening of Mohiniyattam is performed by 4 dancers and will present a dance drama “Ganga Ulpathy” in addition to the Padams and the final piece of the evening – the Thillana

*Thanks to Tapasya

B-412, Itina Abha, Munnekolala, Marathahalli, Bangalore - 560037

E-mail: tapasya.mohinyattam@gmail.com

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Kuchipudi Performance - Program Note - Hyderabad Central University - March 2015

Lalitha Sindhuri - Kuchipudi Performance::

27/ March 2015::

DST Auditorium, HCU

Hyderabad Central University, Hyderabad

University of Hyderabad Concert Series

Program Note

The concert would be a varied blend of songs showcasing you the Happy dancing of Ganesha, Tandava of Shiva, Madhura Bhakthi of Meera bai, the romance of a heroine in Javali, the victory of Goddess Durga and a beautiful Lullaby sung by a mother.

Invocatory item is Ananda nartana ganapathi , a keerthana on the dancing Ganesh (Narathana Ganapathi) composed by Oothukkadu Venkata Subbayya set to Gambheera nata ragam, Adi Talam.

Performers: Lalitha Sindhuri, Swapna Krishnamohan

Shankara Sri giri Natha Prabho , a keerthana of Swathi Thirunal on Lord Nataraja in Hamsanandi ragam, Adi Talam

Performer: Lalitha Sindhuri

Narayaneeyam, a Sadasiva Brahmendra Swamy keerthana

Performer: Swapna Krishnamohan

Meera Bhajan – Darbari Kanada Ragam

Performer: Lalitha Sindhuri

Javali – Kapi ragam

Performer: Lalitha Sindhuri

Jaya Jaya Durge – Tarangam- a composition of Narayana Therthar

Performer: Lalitha Sindhuri

Jo Atchutananda – Navaroj Ragam – composition of Saint Annamacharya

Performer: Lalitha Sindhuri

Lighting: Sri Rahamathulla

Sound: Ajay audios

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Navarasa- Expressions of Life :: Program Note - March 2015

NAVARASA – Expressions of Life
By
Ananda Shankar Jayant
And the
Shankarananda Kalakshetra ensemble
On 5th March 2015 , 7 pm
Ravindra Bharathi, Hyderabad

Nationally awarded dancer, choreographer Ananda Shankar Jayant , celebrated as one of India’s most eminent and leading classical dancers, choreographers and dance scholars, presents her signature choreography Navarasa - Expressions of Life, at the 3 day Dance festival of the PS Telugu University

In this scintillating work ;Dr. Jayant moving away from myth and lyric, uses abstraction as a way to explore human experience and emotion , and strings together in an eclectic manner, the nine emotions of life through the mnemonics of music, body kinetics and pure dance . This critically acclaimed work , invites the audience to draw on the memory of their own personal emotions of everyday life . Winning standing ovations across the world at major festivals , Navarasa comes once again to Hyderabad

Performed by 9 dancers, this 40 minute production has received rave reviews from critics is
not to be missed.

Press Reviews
Ananda's treatment of the nine moods was unique
- Ranee Kumar, Hindu
Pulsating presentation of Navarasa..
- Shyamahari Chakra in Narthanam
A thoughtfully crafted production.
- Leela Venkataraman, Sruti

Shankarananda Kalakshetra
C-52, Road No.10, Film Nagar, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad - 500033, India
E-mail: anandasj@rediffmail.com, URL: www.anandashankarjayant.com



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