Talented dancer
It is refreshing to see some one talented and serious mounting the dance stage. Priyanka Iyer, who performed at the Yavanika, under the series EFCEP, is a heartening comment on the emerging generation of Bharathanatya dancers.
She resides in the USand is far removed from her culture. But, like many Indian children whose families are serious about maintaining their traditions, Priyanka was encouraged by her parents to take up Bharathanatya. She is a student of junior class (11th grade) at Wisconsin.
Priyanka commenced her training at a tender age under Shubhashree Hariharan and has been continuing her practice under Kripa Bhaskaran of Natyarpana Dance Company, Milwaukee. She is a recipient of apprenticeship award from the Arts Board of Wisconsin and completed her arangetram in 2015. She is also learning vocal music and a member of the School Chamber choir.
The easy manner in which Priyanka ran through the opening piece (Ganga Stuthi) spoke for her sound grounding in the basics. The Pada (Chakravaka, Papanasham Shivan) that followed was equally impressive. The familiar varna "Innum En Manam" of Lalgudi Jayaraman in the raga Charukeshi was lively, some complex nritta heightening its rhythmic impact. Her 'Abhinaya' surfaced in the Devaranama (Jagadoddarana) and pada (on Murugha) convincingly. She concluded with a thillana, neatly.
A dancer brought up in an alien milieu suffers from some handicaps which show up in sharp contrast while performing in India. But Priyanka proved to be an exception. Besides good stage presence, she revealed a suppleness in movements and a good grasp of rhythm.
From the side wings, Prasanna Kumar wielded the cymbals, Deepthi Srikantha - vocal, S V Balakrishna on mridanga and Raghunandan on flute - supported with good understanding.
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Rasa Sanje
Rasa Sanje - the annual dance festival was conducted by the Venkatesha Natya Mandira, last week. Four senior students of Venkatesh Natya Mandira opened the programme on Sunday with a Alaripu, customarily.
Then they selected a new varna composed by Kartheek Hebbar in ragamalike, based on the life of Shankaracharya. Here, salient features of Shankara Bhagavadpada are well narrated by the composer. Supriya Shivarudrappa, Divya C M, Aparna Sastry, Nithash Radhakrishna and Biyanka Radhakrishna performed capturing the devotional flavour of the meaningful lyrics. With neat and experienced movements they earned the favourable impression from the audience.
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Glory of Wodeyars
Talented and experienced dancers Satyanarayana Raju and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy chose a very interesting subject "Wodeyars of Mysore" for their dance duet. Wodeyars - Maharajas of Mysore, were known for their patronage of arts - especially music and dance. In fact some of them were themselves good performers and composers. Lakshmi and Raju narrated from Yaduraya to Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, mostly based on the classic works such as Kanteerava Narasimharaja Vijaya and Chikkadevaraja Binnapa. The entire story brought out the major contributions of Wodeyars to society, some of which are not easy to show in dance. While Lakshmi lent a touch of glamour, Rajus masculine stance helped in creating the needed mood.
Several well-known events-episodes passed before the audience with typical motifs, stylished movements and expressions. Thus "Wodeyars" is refreshingly different from the usual dance dramas and a welcome change.
The musicians attracted not only by their performance, but also from their "Durbar dress." Srivatsa's vocal was melodious and Soundarya's wielding the cymbals was inspiring. Harsha Samaga and Mahesh accompanied on mridanga and flute respectively, with aplomb.
*************************************************************
It is refreshing to see some one talented and serious mounting the dance stage. Priyanka Iyer, who performed at the Yavanika, under the series EFCEP, is a heartening comment on the emerging generation of Bharathanatya dancers.
She resides in the USand is far removed from her culture. But, like many Indian children whose families are serious about maintaining their traditions, Priyanka was encouraged by her parents to take up Bharathanatya. She is a student of junior class (11th grade) at Wisconsin.
Priyanka commenced her training at a tender age under Shubhashree Hariharan and has been continuing her practice under Kripa Bhaskaran of Natyarpana Dance Company, Milwaukee. She is a recipient of apprenticeship award from the Arts Board of Wisconsin and completed her arangetram in 2015. She is also learning vocal music and a member of the School Chamber choir.
The easy manner in which Priyanka ran through the opening piece (Ganga Stuthi) spoke for her sound grounding in the basics. The Pada (Chakravaka, Papanasham Shivan) that followed was equally impressive. The familiar varna "Innum En Manam" of Lalgudi Jayaraman in the raga Charukeshi was lively, some complex nritta heightening its rhythmic impact. Her 'Abhinaya' surfaced in the Devaranama (Jagadoddarana) and pada (on Murugha) convincingly. She concluded with a thillana, neatly.
A dancer brought up in an alien milieu suffers from some handicaps which show up in sharp contrast while performing in India. But Priyanka proved to be an exception. Besides good stage presence, she revealed a suppleness in movements and a good grasp of rhythm.
From the side wings, Prasanna Kumar wielded the cymbals, Deepthi Srikantha - vocal, S V Balakrishna on mridanga and Raghunandan on flute - supported with good understanding.
*************************************************************
Rasa Sanje
Rasa Sanje - the annual dance festival was conducted by the Venkatesha Natya Mandira, last week. Four senior students of Venkatesh Natya Mandira opened the programme on Sunday with a Alaripu, customarily.
Then they selected a new varna composed by Kartheek Hebbar in ragamalike, based on the life of Shankaracharya. Here, salient features of Shankara Bhagavadpada are well narrated by the composer. Supriya Shivarudrappa, Divya C M, Aparna Sastry, Nithash Radhakrishna and Biyanka Radhakrishna performed capturing the devotional flavour of the meaningful lyrics. With neat and experienced movements they earned the favourable impression from the audience.
*************************************************************
Glory of Wodeyars
Talented and experienced dancers Satyanarayana Raju and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy chose a very interesting subject "Wodeyars of Mysore" for their dance duet. Wodeyars - Maharajas of Mysore, were known for their patronage of arts - especially music and dance. In fact some of them were themselves good performers and composers. Lakshmi and Raju narrated from Yaduraya to Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, mostly based on the classic works such as Kanteerava Narasimharaja Vijaya and Chikkadevaraja Binnapa. The entire story brought out the major contributions of Wodeyars to society, some of which are not easy to show in dance. While Lakshmi lent a touch of glamour, Rajus masculine stance helped in creating the needed mood.
Several well-known events-episodes passed before the audience with typical motifs, stylished movements and expressions. Thus "Wodeyars" is refreshingly different from the usual dance dramas and a welcome change.
The musicians attracted not only by their performance, but also from their "Durbar dress." Srivatsa's vocal was melodious and Soundarya's wielding the cymbals was inspiring. Harsha Samaga and Mahesh accompanied on mridanga and flute respectively, with aplomb.
*************************************************************