Talented young dancer
Young dancer Samhitha Sampath gave a Bharathanatya recital under the Every Friday Cultural Evening Programme. Samhitha was initiated to Bharathanatya by Kannamma, B Tanujaraj, Santhoshi Simha and she has been continuing her training under Vandya Srinath of Brahmhara School of Music and Dance. Samhitha is a rank holder in Information Science and Engineering and has already performed in a few cities.
With this good background Samhitha Sampath opened her programme with a sloka on Ganesha. In the Annamachar's Pada, a few "Leelas" of Vishnu were presented in the 'sanchari.' The piece de resistance was the Todi pada varna "Ananda Natashekhara." Her abhinaya in the jawadi "Baarenyathake Priyanu" was also a pleasant one and concluded with a Madhuvanthi thillana. The elegance in her stance is appreciable and her career is worth watching. She had good support from a team of experienced musicians: natuvanga by Guru Vandya Srinath, vocal by Nanda Kumar, mridanga by Janardhana Rao and flute by H S Venugopal.
Tributes to Kittappa Pillai
Kittappa Pillai, doyen of Bharathanatya, hailed from a distinguished family of artistes - Tanjore Quartet. He was the son of the famous Natuvanar Ponnaiah Pillai and Pandanallur Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai was his grandfather. He was the torchbearer of that hallowed tradition and no wonder some of the celebrities of today are his disciples. Dr Vyjayanthimala Bali, Hema Malini, Sudha Rani, Narmada and Padmini Rao - are some of his students. He moved to Bengaluru in the late fifties and trained a number of students. He is a recipient of several awards like state and central Academies and Kalidas Samman. In his memory, the Ponnaiah Lalithakala Academy conducts a "Yuva Nrityothsava" every year.
In this year's festival, there were seven programmes by eight young students, all disciples of different Gurus. Archana and Chethana, who gave the inaugural recital, are students of Nrityakala Mandira (B Bhanumathi and Sheela Chandrasekhar) and have performed in a few organisations, both in and outside the state. They saluted to invocatory God through "Sri Mahaganapathi Rava Thumam" in the raga Gowla. The varna "Mohamana" in the raga Bhairavi is a tested piece and twin sisters performed it with ease and assurance. "Kanjada Layatakshi" (Muthuswami Dikshitar and raga Kamalamanohari) is a popular composition in the music concerts also, while the "Yen Palli" of Arunachala Kavi was on Sri Ranganatha of Srirangam. They were well supported by Prasanna Kumar (Natuvanga), D S Srivatsa (vocal), Narayana Swamy (mridanga), and Mahesh Swamy (flute). Archana and Chethana - have good future in the years to come.
Good training
Sushmitha H S, who performed on Wednesday is a student of Dr Soundarya Srivathsa and has passed Vidwat examination. She has also completed Rangapravesha. "Varvallabha Ramana" of G N B (Hamsadhwani) gave Sushmitha a good start. Tanjore Quartets another varna "Sami Nee," in the raga Kamach, was her main piece of the programme. Her portrayal of the "Virahothkhanditha Nayika" was pleasing and proof of her good training. She also chose a devaranama (Elladi Bandayo Rangaiah of Purandara Dasa) and a thillana in the raga Valachi (Dwaraki Krishnaswamy). With some more higher training Sushmitha has a bright future.
Dr Soundarya Srivatsa (Natuvanga), D S Srivatsa (vocal), Lingaraju (mridanga) and Jayaram (flute) gave inspiring support from the wings.
Seminar on Kuchipudi
The Shambhavi School of Dance conducted the fourth edition of Nayika - Kuchipudi Seminar. Five eminent Kuchipudi dancers spoke on the styles of their Guru, training method, special features of their school. Problems and difficulties faced by them during their training were also explained well. Their demonstrations helped young aspirants to grasp the nuances and specialities of their schools. Sumathi Kaushal (USA), Smitha Sastri (Aurangabad), Bala Kondala Rao (Visakhapatnam), Usha Gayathri (Hyderabad) and Vyjayanthi Kashi (Bengaluru) - demonstrated Asta Padi, Bhama Kalapa, Sathyabhama Rukmini Prasanga and Urvashi - which helped for an in-depth study. It was an interesting study, full of information and a guiding lamp for the dance students.
Young dancer Samhitha Sampath gave a Bharathanatya recital under the Every Friday Cultural Evening Programme. Samhitha was initiated to Bharathanatya by Kannamma, B Tanujaraj, Santhoshi Simha and she has been continuing her training under Vandya Srinath of Brahmhara School of Music and Dance. Samhitha is a rank holder in Information Science and Engineering and has already performed in a few cities.
With this good background Samhitha Sampath opened her programme with a sloka on Ganesha. In the Annamachar's Pada, a few "Leelas" of Vishnu were presented in the 'sanchari.' The piece de resistance was the Todi pada varna "Ananda Natashekhara." Her abhinaya in the jawadi "Baarenyathake Priyanu" was also a pleasant one and concluded with a Madhuvanthi thillana. The elegance in her stance is appreciable and her career is worth watching. She had good support from a team of experienced musicians: natuvanga by Guru Vandya Srinath, vocal by Nanda Kumar, mridanga by Janardhana Rao and flute by H S Venugopal.
Tributes to Kittappa Pillai
Kittappa Pillai, doyen of Bharathanatya, hailed from a distinguished family of artistes - Tanjore Quartet. He was the son of the famous Natuvanar Ponnaiah Pillai and Pandanallur Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai was his grandfather. He was the torchbearer of that hallowed tradition and no wonder some of the celebrities of today are his disciples. Dr Vyjayanthimala Bali, Hema Malini, Sudha Rani, Narmada and Padmini Rao - are some of his students. He moved to Bengaluru in the late fifties and trained a number of students. He is a recipient of several awards like state and central Academies and Kalidas Samman. In his memory, the Ponnaiah Lalithakala Academy conducts a "Yuva Nrityothsava" every year.
In this year's festival, there were seven programmes by eight young students, all disciples of different Gurus. Archana and Chethana, who gave the inaugural recital, are students of Nrityakala Mandira (B Bhanumathi and Sheela Chandrasekhar) and have performed in a few organisations, both in and outside the state. They saluted to invocatory God through "Sri Mahaganapathi Rava Thumam" in the raga Gowla. The varna "Mohamana" in the raga Bhairavi is a tested piece and twin sisters performed it with ease and assurance. "Kanjada Layatakshi" (Muthuswami Dikshitar and raga Kamalamanohari) is a popular composition in the music concerts also, while the "Yen Palli" of Arunachala Kavi was on Sri Ranganatha of Srirangam. They were well supported by Prasanna Kumar (Natuvanga), D S Srivatsa (vocal), Narayana Swamy (mridanga), and Mahesh Swamy (flute). Archana and Chethana - have good future in the years to come.
Good training
Sushmitha H S, who performed on Wednesday is a student of Dr Soundarya Srivathsa and has passed Vidwat examination. She has also completed Rangapravesha. "Varvallabha Ramana" of G N B (Hamsadhwani) gave Sushmitha a good start. Tanjore Quartets another varna "Sami Nee," in the raga Kamach, was her main piece of the programme. Her portrayal of the "Virahothkhanditha Nayika" was pleasing and proof of her good training. She also chose a devaranama (Elladi Bandayo Rangaiah of Purandara Dasa) and a thillana in the raga Valachi (Dwaraki Krishnaswamy). With some more higher training Sushmitha has a bright future.
Dr Soundarya Srivatsa (Natuvanga), D S Srivatsa (vocal), Lingaraju (mridanga) and Jayaram (flute) gave inspiring support from the wings.
Seminar on Kuchipudi
The Shambhavi School of Dance conducted the fourth edition of Nayika - Kuchipudi Seminar. Five eminent Kuchipudi dancers spoke on the styles of their Guru, training method, special features of their school. Problems and difficulties faced by them during their training were also explained well. Their demonstrations helped young aspirants to grasp the nuances and specialities of their schools. Sumathi Kaushal (USA), Smitha Sastri (Aurangabad), Bala Kondala Rao (Visakhapatnam), Usha Gayathri (Hyderabad) and Vyjayanthi Kashi (Bengaluru) - demonstrated Asta Padi, Bhama Kalapa, Sathyabhama Rukmini Prasanga and Urvashi - which helped for an in-depth study. It was an interesting study, full of information and a guiding lamp for the dance students.