The Maya Dance Company, founded by Bhavana Gowri Penubolu, in 2022, presented a captivating evening of Bharatanatyam at Shilparamam Madhapur on the Second Saturday of May. The evening started with Alarippu, a traditional piece with a new age spin, and dancing to an unconventional track from the Indian Raga series, thus setting the mood for the evening.
The young and enthusiastic students – Nishka Singh, Purva Makhana, Ayra Bachu and Ruhani Bachu, presented the wonderful Natesha Kauthvam, in Hamsadhwani Raagam, as the evening’s second item. In the performance by Bhavana’s students, the crisp movements and graceful poses of Lord Shiva were very visible.
The talented young dancers of Guru Bhavana, 13-year-old Nishka Singh, Class IX student, Purva Makhana, Bachu sisters – Ayra and Ruhani, presented Jathiswaram in Ragamalika that focuses on three aspects of dance: Unity of Music, Rhythm and movement. In the Jathiswaram, the Adavus and footwork were in perfect sync.
The Maya Dance Ensemble, a collaboration of senior dancers, who have learnt from different gurus and performed on the stage of Shilparamam, included Ananya Mehta, Basava Sourabh Puneshetty, Shrihita Atmakur, Doyal Jha, and Bhavana Gowri. The Ensemble presented ‘Shakti’, choreographed by Bhavana Gowri and set to music by Priyadarshini Govind’s Pradarshana audio tape. It was an awe-inspiring performance that emanated strength and grace of Shakti. In this piece, the dancers drew parallels between the various forms of Devi and the multifarious woman of this day and age. The dancers interpreted Ardhanareeshwara interestingly as the presence of feminine and male spirit in the human race irrespective of physical gender creating an idea of fluidity in gender identity. A very special part of this piece was the story of Jhansi ki Rani one of the forerunners of the freedom struggle who for us is the embodiment of Maha Kali.
Enchanting Performance: Little kids – Ayra, Ruhani, Purva and Nishka captivated the hearts of the audience, while emoting the antics of Krishna and taming the serpent Kalia in ‘Vishamakara Kannan’, a composition of Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi. The finale item of the evening was Thillana, performed to a beautiful composition by the doyen of music, Padma Vibhushan Late Shri Balamurali Krishna, set in Raagam Kadanakuthuhalam dedicated to Lord Krishna. The rhythmic composition left everyone tapping their foot.
The dancers from the Ensemble included Doyal Jha, who completed her B. Sc in Accounting and Finance from University of London, and began training in Bharatanatyam under Guru Dr. Rajeswari Sainath. Srihita Atmakur, a professional dancer, choreographer, yoga instructor, and entrepreneur dedicated to the art of movement, trained under Smt. Reshma Harindranath and Shreenath Muthyala. Ananya Mehta, a passionate dancer, is the student of Mrs. Nenita Praveen, under whose guidance she completed her Arangetram. Basava Sourabh Punneshetty, Senior Consultant in Neudesic Technologies, is currently learning Bharatanatyam from Shankarananda Kalakshetra run by Dr. Ananada Shankar Jayant, under her senior disciples Neeraja Kaaja and Aditi Rao. Bhavana Gowri, dancer, choreographer, Kalaripayattu practitioner, Creative Movement Arts and Yoga teacher, learnt Bharatanatyam under Dr. Rajeswari Sainath.
The guests for the evening included Natyaswara convenor, Anna Rao Garu, Kuchipudi and Vilasini Natyam dancer, Ms. Pujitha Krishna and Mr. PV Prabhakar Rao, son of Late Prime Minister, PV Narasimha Rao.
