<p>A big, significant trend was the widespread use of social media by a large section of classical dancers and musicians — from budding talents to acknowledged maestros. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Whether it was to avoid using expensive PR agencies or because artistes liked the informality and immediacy of contact and the wide reach that social media offers — the use was extensive. Artistes announced forthcoming programmes on Facebook and Twitter, uploaded excerpts from just-given concerts on Youtube, and watched their Facebook and Twitter accounts for feedback in terms of posts and the like/dislike clicks. The gap between artistes and fans/critics became narrower. <br /><br />A towering genius of his time and internationally respected sitarist Ravi Shankar passed away. Kuchipudi icons Vempati Chinna Satyam and Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma left us. Carnatic vocalist N C Soundaravalli too passed away. <br /><br />Several classical dancers attempted contemporary-style productions, or innovative ones, that pushed the boundaries of the classical format. Acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer-actress Shobana staged her musical ‘Krishna’ to acclaim. This year too, the presentations of Bharatanatyam combined with yoga, Sufi etc, by Ability Unlimited Foundation’s differently-abled artistes received much appreciation.<br /><br />Increasing numbers of classical musicians — Hindustanti and Carnatic — participated in jugalbandis and fusion/crossover music. Chitravina Ravikiran composed two pieces for the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra, and also arranged Thyagaraja’s ‘Niravadhi Sukhadayaka’ for them, the first time in Carnatic music history where a full western classical symphony presented a major Indian classical composer. Tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain’s concert with Carnatic music giant M Balamuralikrishna in Chennai, at year-end, dazzled connoisseurs. Renowned Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri and Hindustani classical flautist Ronu Majumdar teamed up for widely appreciated jugalbandis.<br /><br />Annual classical arts festivals like Dover Lane, ITC-SRA Sammelan, Mudra Dance Festival, and temple-based dance-music festivals like the Khajuraho, Chidambaram, Raja-Rani, Konark etc, grew in strength, as did Ruhaniyat, the Sufi and Mystic Music Festival. <br /><br />Among Hindustani classical music, sitar, sarod, violin and tabla held sway even as the rudra veena, which has only about five professional players left, continued to find its place in the sun. Famed flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia enthralled audiences in India and abroad with his flute play. <br /><br />Music season<br /><br />India’s biggest classical music and dance festival, Chennai’s Music Season, got underway in December. The Music Academy, Narada Gana Sabha, Krishna Gana Sabha, Mylapore Fine Arts, Kartik Fine Arts, Bharat Kalachar, and scores of other sabhas/cultural associations played host to lec-dems, talks and scintillating performances by distinguished musicians like N Ramani, Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Aruna Sairam, Sudha Ragunathan, Bombay Jayashri, T N Seshagopalan, O S Thiagarajan, M Narmada, Hyderabad Brothers, Carnatica Brothers, Kadri Gopalnath, U Srinivas, T M Krishna, Malladi Brothers; and celebrated Bharatanatyam artistes like Alamervalli, Priyadarshini Govind, Malavika Sarukkai, Srekala Bharat, etc. Many more maestros and promising young talents also featured.<br /><br />Carnatic vocalist, Trichur V Ramachandran, received this year’s Sangeeta Kalanidhi award. This year, Chennai’s renowned Kalakshetra got written about as much for its controversies as its dance activities.<br /><br />Classical dancers and musicians unearthed rare composers or rare compositions of known composers while also presenting time-tested lyrics. Several dancers revisited old pieces. Connoisseurs saw highly creative choreography in several dance-recitals, just as they also endured a few banal experiments. Karnataka’s Yakshagana, Mayurbhanj Chhau and Kathakali gained more audiences in India and abroad. The gifted Bharatanatyam-Kuchipudi dancer Swapnasundari continued to showcase Vilasini Natyam to appreciative audiences.<br /><br />The dance world mourned the death of the colossus called Vempati Chinna Satyam. The legendary Kuchipudi teacher-choreographer’s list of students — those under his tutelage for years, or ones who came to learn a few items — included Vyjayanthimala, Shoba Naidu, Hema Malini, Sonal Mansingh, Shantala Shivalingappa, Raja and Radha Reddy etc.<br /><br /> With his passing, the Indian classical dance world has lost one of its greatest stalwarts. Another great loss was of Kuchipudi stree-vesham (female-impersonation) icon, Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma, whose performances had been lauded by commoners to prime ministers and presidents.<br /><br />Indian flavour abroad<br /><br />Indian associations abroad are energetically promoting Indian classical music and dance through concerts, workshops and lec-dems. London’s prestigious annual Darbar Festival showcased India’s musical heritage. Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) presented their Erasing Borders Festival of Indian Dance in two parts; as also concerts by sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan; renowned sitarist Shujaat Hussain Khan; and vocal jazz by Sachal Vasandani. SVASA continued to spread Annamacharya keerthanas in the US. Dhruv Arts organised yet another successful edition of their annual London International Arts Festival, besides several Carnatic-music workshops. Indian Music Society of Minnesota (IMSOM) featured accomplished Indian classical musicians like Pantula Rama, Mysore Brothers, Kalapini Komkali etc. <br /><br />Kathak legend Birju Maharaj and the well-known Shovana Narayan performed and lectured about the Kathak dance form to appreciative audiences. The third edition of the bi-annual International Kuchipudi Dance Convention organised by Silicon Andhra in Hyderabad had about 6,500 delegates from around 20 countries, and over 4,000 participants in the Maha Brundanatyam (group dance). Odissi doyen Kelucharan Mohapatra’s legacy was kept alive by his talented students like Kumkum Mohanty, Sujata Mohapatra etc.<br /><br />Ravi Shankar received a posthumous award — a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. The highly admired Kuchipudi and contemporary dancer Shantala Shivalingappa wowed connoisseurs at prestigious platforms with her performances like Shiva-Ganga, Namasya, Swayambhu etc. Violinist and composer Jyotsna Srikanth spread the fragrance of Carnatic music and her brand of fusion music on national and international circuits with solos and collaborations with acclaimed artistes.<br /><br />There were many other cultural offerings in 2012 that were highly creative, engaging and educative. And some insipid and vacuous presentations too. Overall, the classical arts scene shows all promise of being more vibrant in the coming years with much to look forward to in 2013.<br /></p>
<p>A big, significant trend was the widespread use of social media by a large section of classical dancers and musicians — from budding talents to acknowledged maestros. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Whether it was to avoid using expensive PR agencies or because artistes liked the informality and immediacy of contact and the wide reach that social media offers — the use was extensive. Artistes announced forthcoming programmes on Facebook and Twitter, uploaded excerpts from just-given concerts on Youtube, and watched their Facebook and Twitter accounts for feedback in terms of posts and the like/dislike clicks. The gap between artistes and fans/critics became narrower. <br /><br />A towering genius of his time and internationally respected sitarist Ravi Shankar passed away. Kuchipudi icons Vempati Chinna Satyam and Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma left us. Carnatic vocalist N C Soundaravalli too passed away. <br /><br />Several classical dancers attempted contemporary-style productions, or innovative ones, that pushed the boundaries of the classical format. Acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer-actress Shobana staged her musical ‘Krishna’ to acclaim. This year too, the presentations of Bharatanatyam combined with yoga, Sufi etc, by Ability Unlimited Foundation’s differently-abled artistes received much appreciation.<br /><br />Increasing numbers of classical musicians — Hindustanti and Carnatic — participated in jugalbandis and fusion/crossover music. Chitravina Ravikiran composed two pieces for the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra, and also arranged Thyagaraja’s ‘Niravadhi Sukhadayaka’ for them, the first time in Carnatic music history where a full western classical symphony presented a major Indian classical composer. Tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain’s concert with Carnatic music giant M Balamuralikrishna in Chennai, at year-end, dazzled connoisseurs. Renowned Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri and Hindustani classical flautist Ronu Majumdar teamed up for widely appreciated jugalbandis.<br /><br />Annual classical arts festivals like Dover Lane, ITC-SRA Sammelan, Mudra Dance Festival, and temple-based dance-music festivals like the Khajuraho, Chidambaram, Raja-Rani, Konark etc, grew in strength, as did Ruhaniyat, the Sufi and Mystic Music Festival. <br /><br />Among Hindustani classical music, sitar, sarod, violin and tabla held sway even as the rudra veena, which has only about five professional players left, continued to find its place in the sun. Famed flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia enthralled audiences in India and abroad with his flute play. <br /><br />Music season<br /><br />India’s biggest classical music and dance festival, Chennai’s Music Season, got underway in December. The Music Academy, Narada Gana Sabha, Krishna Gana Sabha, Mylapore Fine Arts, Kartik Fine Arts, Bharat Kalachar, and scores of other sabhas/cultural associations played host to lec-dems, talks and scintillating performances by distinguished musicians like N Ramani, Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Aruna Sairam, Sudha Ragunathan, Bombay Jayashri, T N Seshagopalan, O S Thiagarajan, M Narmada, Hyderabad Brothers, Carnatica Brothers, Kadri Gopalnath, U Srinivas, T M Krishna, Malladi Brothers; and celebrated Bharatanatyam artistes like Alamervalli, Priyadarshini Govind, Malavika Sarukkai, Srekala Bharat, etc. Many more maestros and promising young talents also featured.<br /><br />Carnatic vocalist, Trichur V Ramachandran, received this year’s Sangeeta Kalanidhi award. This year, Chennai’s renowned Kalakshetra got written about as much for its controversies as its dance activities.<br /><br />Classical dancers and musicians unearthed rare composers or rare compositions of known composers while also presenting time-tested lyrics. Several dancers revisited old pieces. Connoisseurs saw highly creative choreography in several dance-recitals, just as they also endured a few banal experiments. Karnataka’s Yakshagana, Mayurbhanj Chhau and Kathakali gained more audiences in India and abroad. The gifted Bharatanatyam-Kuchipudi dancer Swapnasundari continued to showcase Vilasini Natyam to appreciative audiences.<br /><br />The dance world mourned the death of the colossus called Vempati Chinna Satyam. The legendary Kuchipudi teacher-choreographer’s list of students — those under his tutelage for years, or ones who came to learn a few items — included Vyjayanthimala, Shoba Naidu, Hema Malini, Sonal Mansingh, Shantala Shivalingappa, Raja and Radha Reddy etc.<br /><br /> With his passing, the Indian classical dance world has lost one of its greatest stalwarts. Another great loss was of Kuchipudi stree-vesham (female-impersonation) icon, Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma, whose performances had been lauded by commoners to prime ministers and presidents.<br /><br />Indian flavour abroad<br /><br />Indian associations abroad are energetically promoting Indian classical music and dance through concerts, workshops and lec-dems. London’s prestigious annual Darbar Festival showcased India’s musical heritage. Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) presented their Erasing Borders Festival of Indian Dance in two parts; as also concerts by sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan; renowned sitarist Shujaat Hussain Khan; and vocal jazz by Sachal Vasandani. SVASA continued to spread Annamacharya keerthanas in the US. Dhruv Arts organised yet another successful edition of their annual London International Arts Festival, besides several Carnatic-music workshops. Indian Music Society of Minnesota (IMSOM) featured accomplished Indian classical musicians like Pantula Rama, Mysore Brothers, Kalapini Komkali etc. <br /><br />Kathak legend Birju Maharaj and the well-known Shovana Narayan performed and lectured about the Kathak dance form to appreciative audiences. The third edition of the bi-annual International Kuchipudi Dance Convention organised by Silicon Andhra in Hyderabad had about 6,500 delegates from around 20 countries, and over 4,000 participants in the Maha Brundanatyam (group dance). Odissi doyen Kelucharan Mohapatra’s legacy was kept alive by his talented students like Kumkum Mohanty, Sujata Mohapatra etc.<br /><br />Ravi Shankar received a posthumous award — a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. The highly admired Kuchipudi and contemporary dancer Shantala Shivalingappa wowed connoisseurs at prestigious platforms with her performances like Shiva-Ganga, Namasya, Swayambhu etc. Violinist and composer Jyotsna Srikanth spread the fragrance of Carnatic music and her brand of fusion music on national and international circuits with solos and collaborations with acclaimed artistes.<br /><br />There were many other cultural offerings in 2012 that were highly creative, engaging and educative. And some insipid and vacuous presentations too. Overall, the classical arts scene shows all promise of being more vibrant in the coming years with much to look forward to in 2013.<br /></p>
