Odissi, Kuchipudi & Bharatanatyam dancers bring the House Down
Dancers trained by Padma Shri Aruna Mohanty, who is known for her devotion, perseverance and commitment, set the agenda for the evening with their breath-taking performance. Their coordination and footwork were superb. The students from the Orissa Dance Academy, presented ‘Jagannatha Ashtakam’ as Invocatory followed by ‘Khamaj Pallavi’ and ‘Ki Nadare’.
This was followed by Kuchipudi recital by Bangalore-based Avijit Das and troupe. Avijit promotes traditional classical dance of Kuchipudi as well as Indian Art and Culture at large and runs the Kimaham School of Kuchipudi in Bangalore and trains several promising students in their dance journey. A graded artist of Doordarshan and widely travelled across the globe, Avijit Das along with his troupe performed ‘Abhinaya Vibhava’ as Invocatory and concluded with Sri Thalapaka Annamacharya keerthana. The Avijit Dance team mesmerised the audience with their performances.
The third performance of the evening was by Uttara Centre for Performing Arts Troupe led by Bharatanatyam dancer and Guru Abhinaya Kalaratna Geeta Ganesan. An acclaimed versatile Bharatanatyam dancer and accomplished Guru, their first performance being a Monday, devoted to Lord Shiva was on ‘Natesha Koutvam’ depicting various aspects of the Lord. This was followed by Leelas of Lord Krishna, Tillana and rounded off with Geeta Dhwani. Winner of many awards, Geeta Ganesan also took to the stage along with her disciples and enthralled the Rasikas.
The evening’s last performance was a Kuchipudi recital by the students of Patnam Siva Prasad Garu from Anantapur. Siva Prasad garu who runs the Sri Gurukrupa Sangeetha Nrityakala Nikethan in 1989 at Anantapur, has trained over 16,000 students till date. In Hyderabad at the UDVIGNA Festival, his students SM Sandhya, K Somnath Bharadwaj and Manogna presented ‘Jayajaya Durge’, ‘Chandrasekharam’, ‘Padam Yevvade’ and ‘Thillana’. The solo and group presentation by Siva Prasad students was a treat to watch. Hats off to the ‘Jayajaya Durge’ presentation.
After the first three performances, there was a brief interval of speeches. Chief Guest Sri D Vinay Bhaskar, Honourable Govt. Chief Whip & MLA Warangal West praised the dancers and sought a festival to be held in Warangal. Prof. P Ramalinga Sastry, Kalaratna, Central SNA Awardee, (Former) Dean SN School of Arts & Communication, University of Hyderabad, also had word of praise for the Odissi dancers, Avijit Das and troupe and Geeta Ganesan and her students. He was kind enough to heap praises where desired to boost the morale of the young dancers. Also, present was Sri Harikrishna Mammidi, Director, Dept. of Culture & Language, Telangana Govt., and Sri KV Ramana Chary, IAS Retd. and Sri Jaggan of Employees Welfare Union. All of them had a kind word for the dancers and their art form. They called for protecting and promoting India’s rich cultural heritage.
