The three-day SICA Annual Dance Festival gets underway at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Basheerbagh from Friday 28 June 2024 at 6.30pm onwards and ends on 30 June 2024. This year the South Indian Cultural Association (SICA) is organising the Dance Festival jointly with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
On the first day of the event, the first hour will kick start with the performance of a Bharatanatyam duet by Kumari Upanisha Kannan and Shabin Bright, disciples of Guru Dr. S Divyasena. A ‘B’ Graded artist from Doordarshan, Shabin Bright, graduated with his Bachelors and Master’s degree in Bharatanatyam and is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Bharatanatyam from Tanjore University. Recently, Shabin was awarded the best dancer recognition by the Madras Music Academy for their Spirit of Youth series.
On the other hand, Upanisha Kannan who has been under the tutelage of Guru S Divyasena for nearly two decades is also a Graded artist from Doordarshan. A recipient of awards like Gopikrishna National Award, Nrithya Vilasini award, Upansiha is a Middle and High School educator at Chettinad Harishree Vidyalayam, Chennai. She also holds a Diploma in Bharatanatyam and is currently pursuing her Masters in Bharatanatyam from Annamalai University.
The Second part of the evening will see a Kuchipudi Dance Recital by Koka Vijayalakshmi and team. Born to Koka Radha Krishna Murthy and Sambrajyam, Koka Vijayalakshmi had great love for fine arts and was initiated into dance at the age of five years under Guru Kaza Venkata Subrahmanyam, disciple of Late Guru Padma Bhushan Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam. With over 1,000 performances to her credit across the country and Globe, Koka Vijayalakshmi is an empanelled artist of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.
On Saturday, the Second Day of the Annual Dance Event, Dr. Vyshnavie Sainath and her team will present ‘Manas Srotaha – Mindful Flow Through Dance’. The artists performing along with her include Geetha Gavvala, Sangeetha Gavvala, Srujana Valiveti, Keerthi Valiveti, Meenakshi Murali and Haritha Kannadasan.
Born with anklets on her toes, Dr. Vyshnavie Sainath, daughter and disciple of Dr. Rajeswari Sainath, is one of the finest exponents of classical Indian dance in her generation. Performing across the globe, her repertoire spans across Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kuchipudi and Contemporary dance. Vyshnavie has undergone intensive camp for classical contemporary dance by Martha Graham School in New York.
Vyshnavie’s niche is in integrating yoga and martial arts in Classical dance with a larger-than-life presentation on stage has moved even the most skeptic of audiences out of their comfort zone and Vyshnavie’s skill in synthesizing multiple dance forms has even been acknowledged by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Winner of awards like Youth Icon of Andhra Pradesh by India Today; Best Dancer/Artist Awards, Times of India (Chennai); Women’s award by Zee TV, Nadanamamani… etc.,
A Post Graduate in Human Resource and Diploma Holder in Theatre Arts and Masters in Bharatanatyam from Madras University, Vyshnavie is Ph.D. scholar in dance, who has researched in Globalisation of Dance and its influences. A scholarship holder from Goldman Sacch where she pursued woman entrepreneur and management from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
On Sunday, the third day of the event will also see performances by Mohiniyattam dancer, Mythili Maratt Anoop and Odissi dancer, Debashree Patnaik. The first performance of the evening will by Mohinyattam artist and academician, Dr. Mythili Maratt Anoop. She will be presenting a Swathi Thirunal Padam, and a new composition based on the popular Urdu verses of the Sufi poet, Amir Khusro sung in Mohiniyattam style by Sudev Warrier in July 2019.
Odissi dancer Debashree Patnaik is a student of Rudraksha. She has also trained under Guru Bichitrananda Swain and Yudhishthir Nayak. Debashree is a Graded Doordarshan artist and winner of several awards such as the National Youth Award, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of India, The State Youth Award, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of Orissa; Senior National Scholarship for Odissi, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Govt. of India, Rajiv Gandhi Pratibha Puraskar from the Governor, Govt. of Orissa; Biju Patnaik Award from the Chief Minister of Orissa, 44th Sringarmani Award from the Sur Sringar Samsad, Nrutya Vishard from Akhil Mohan Vidyalaya.
The three-day annual Dance Event is sponsored by LIC, Union Bank of India, and Spinco.