All about harmony

The chants and the energy of these artists were simply unavoidable as they danced their way from the exteriors of the hall, to the stage. The crowd simply gaped at them with disbelief as it hadn’t expected such a start to the show. These artists slowly spread across the stage, and made some amazing formations before making their way out amidst unending applause. This was the welcome dance on the concluding day of the Bengaluru International Arts Festival.

It was an amazing fiesta of different dance forms as Veena Murthy Vijay presented
Harmony, a presentation by the artists of Samanvay Dance Company, Nritarutya and Lourd Vijay’s Dance Studio. First in line was a traditional Bharatnatyam performance, where in dancers performed to the popular Carnatic song Gajana Nayutam. Following this was a contemporary dance by the troupe of Nritarutya. Even as they just started to perform, the kathak dancers received a huge round of applause which resonated with the sound of their anklets. Salsa and tango performances by the dancers of Lourd Vijay’s troupe were equally amazing. Be it the well-coordinated doll dance by a couple or the colourful and zealous yakshagana or the graceful kuchipudi movements, the dancers from different troupes kept the audiences enthralled for more than an hour.

But the final act was the icing on the cake as these dancers, specialising in completely different dance forms did a fusion with one another. So one got to see the salsa performers with the Bharatnatyam dancers, and the yakshagana performers with the kuchipudi dancers. In the end, all the groups even shared the stage. These dancers were later honoured by popular dancers and musicians like Suma Sudhindra, Veena Murthy, Nagamani Srinath and Lalitha Vijaykar.

“Through this festival, Suma and I wanted to present what harmony meant to our society. India is a land of diverse culture and dance is one such medium of universal harmony,” said Veena as she addressed the audience. “This presentation is an amalgamation of traditional and modern dance.”

Following these performances, was the concert of santoor maestro Rahul Sharma, the son of Shivkumar Sharma and his troupe. The musicians entertained the audiences through out the rest of the evening with their rendition of the classical Indian ragas.