Versatility leaves a lasting impression

The bharatanatyam dance recital of Aparna Vinod as part of the ‘Every Friday Cultural Programme’, held at the Yavanika Hall recently, showcased the versatility of the dancer and left the audience impressed.

The show started with a pushpanjali, in which the dancer offered flowers to the Natraja. Providing music was B S Sharma on the khanjira as well as vocals, Surya Narayan Iyenger on the flute and Prasanna Kumar on the vocals.

The pushpanjali was followed by a kriti, which was composed by Madurai Muralidharan. Her effortless style and grace was applauded by the audience.
An experienced dancer, she kept her acts short and interesting and did not let
the performance get monotonous.

The kriti was followed by a varna — Sakhiye. After a bit of elaboration, the jatis
came in adding more variety to the performance which was poised and energetic.
 Her hand movements were good even as she danced to fast beats.

K Aiyappa, who had come to watch the show, was quite impressed by it.

“She is not the typical young dancer, she’s a senior artiste and yet, she is full of energy and style. The recital had a lot of variety and hence was interesting. I feel that dancers always steal the

limelight in any act and the audience hardly notices the accompanists. But a performance is never complete without good vocals and musicians. The vocals as well as the musicians were very impressive and did a great job as well,” he adds.

Many youngsters could also be spotted among the audience. Yashaswini, a young member of the audience, feels it is important for any artiste to see other artistes performing and learn from them.

“This programme has had some very good dancers. I try and make it to such shows as there is so much that I can take home from them. It is a learning opportunity for all the young artistes. For instance, today I learnt that age does not stop you from dancing,” she sums up.