Distinction in every step

Mesmerising recital

Dancer Vani Ganapathy was elegance personified during her performance at the Sangeeth Utsav-2012, which was held at Chowdiah Memorial Hall.

Dressed beautifully, she took time to explain each of her acts before going on to perform them on stage.

She dedicated her performance to her mother and guru and started off with an abhinaya piece from the verses of Krishna Ashtakam. “The verses describe Krishna in many ways and adorn him with many adjectives.

This act is all about glorifying Krishna. It says, ‘O Krishna, the child of Vasudeva, the destroyer of Kansa, the darling of Devaki, I bow to thee’,” she elaborates. What followed was a beautiful combination of abhinaya and nritya, which brought out her best.

Her expressions said it all and the grace with which she captured the stage kept the audience glued to their seats. Her next act was a unique piece — a varnam based on the ragam khamaj, set to the rupak talam.

“This is a rare varnam as the music and lyrics have been written by two different people. This was not the norm in those days,” she explains. The varnam describes the love of a woman for her man. Fast-paced beats and excellent music enhanced the performance even further.

Each of her pieces depicted the emotions of the nayika in great detail. Her use of the stage was innovative and the energy level was awe-inspiring. “She is one of the most graceful dancers of this era and dances with a lot of energy and youthfulness.

I think everybody should take back something from her performance — not only in terms of the performance but also the kind of dedication she shows towards her art,” says Kaveri, who had come to watch the performance.

The later half of the show was equally gripping as she performed various pieces based on abhinaya as well as nritya. The audience was quick to applaud and encourage her from time to time.

“I like the fact that she chooses such beautiful compositions as well as verses for her performances. The best part is that she takes time to explain every act — and that is commendable,” says Ganapathy K, one of the audience members.