JOIN USShristi Centre of Performing Arts and Institute of Dance, which merges various forms of Indian dance to produce a means of therapy, in association with the National Gallery Of Modern Art, inaugurated the ‘World Dance Week’ celebrations at the NGMA auditorium recently.
At the inauguration, director of the institute AV Satyanarayana introduced the dignitaries present namely KG Kumar, director, National Gallery Of Modern Art; KA Dayananda KAS, director Kannada and Culture, Government of India; Gangamma Keshavamurthy, chairperson, Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy and KS Nagendra, District Rotary Governor.
The programme commenced with a dance invocation by Geetha Srikrishna. Grace merged with bold expressions as the bharatanatyam dancer moved across the stage and held the audience spellbound.
Reflecting on the performance itself, Geetha commented, “The invocation is when we ask the lord for his blessings so that the performance of everybody here is good and successful.”
The first performance was a bharatanatyam piece by talented twins Archana and Chetna. The siblings were also presented with momentos for their dedication to the art. The highlight of the event was the Mahan Buddha, One Man Show, a creation of AV Satyanarayana. His performance involved the depiction of 12 important characters (Shuddhodhana, Young Siddhartha, King Ashoka, King of Kalinga, Rajguru, Devadatta, Peacock, Court Dancer, Enlightened Buddha, evil elements, Snake and Angulimala) along with the costume changes.
Techniques of martial art, bharatanatyam, kathak, yakshagana, and folk dance were presented with absolute precision, awe-inspiring movements and intricate motions that received a massive applause from the audience.
The purpose of this celebration was to increase the awareness of the importance of dance among the general public and persuade governments from all over the world to provide a proper place for dance in all systems of education.
“To call this ‘World Dance Week’ is appropriate because dance is about body language and emotions are universal,” Satyanarayana commented. “It’s nice that dance is being given recognition through this and it’s a good platform, especially for youngsters,” Geetha said with a smile.
On the second day of the celebrations, at HN Kalakshetra, Manju Bhargavi, actress and kuchipudi dancer, was felicitated with the ‘Shristi National Achievement Award’ by the academy for her contribution to the dance community.
The rest of the week’s celebrations oversaw different classical dance recitals from artistes across the country, dance therapy workshops, dance-related workshops and about 50 dance presentations including a grand ballet performance with 25 dancers.
“I’m aware of the concept of dance therapy but I’ve brought my friend along so she understands as well,” said Jahnavi Ravishankar, a dancer and guest. The ‘World Dance Week’ celebration is on till May 6.