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Varsha Seshan

Workshop Coming Soon …

June 29, 2014 by Varsha Seshan 2 Comments

We are conducting a dance workshop (followed by a performance) soon … I will share the details in the next few days!

Filed Under: Dance, Dance Workshops Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, India, performance, programme, workshop

Thank you!

April 28, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

For all those who came and watched me and listened to me at Art Hop Pune, thank you! I began with almost no one in my audience. In five minutes, there were over twenty people – a large number in such a small place. And as I was doing my last piece, the place was […]

Filed Under: Dance, Dance Workshops Tagged With: art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme, story, story-catcher, workshop

Lecture Demonstration at Art Hop Pune

April 27, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Nritta is one of the two pillars of the magnificent structure called dance. Nritta is pure technique, with no hidden symbolism, no complex meaning and no detailed explanation involved. What is the purpose, then, of nritta? That’s one of the modules of today’s lecture demonstration at Oakwood Sen5es at 5pm. Be part of Art Hop […]

Filed Under: Dance, Dance Workshops Tagged With: art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme, workshop

Women of Pride

April 9, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Women of Pride unravelled a lot of questions before proceeding to respond to them, at least in part . There was so much about the devadasis that I did not know. Often in books I read, the history of these temple dancers was cheerfully summed up in a couple of sentences. The devadasis were nityasumangali […]

Filed Under: Books, Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, history, India, reading, review

Ram Navami

April 8, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Three years ago, we performed on a beautiful stage as part of the Kannada Sangha celebrations in Pune. I can’t quite believe that it was three years ago. Waiting to perform again!

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, India, performance, programme

Arangetram

April 7, 2014 by Varsha Seshan 2 Comments

Often, invitation cards say that ‘Arangetram’ means ‘ascending the stage’. Theoretically, all of us know that it is our first stage programme. Then why is it supposed to be so perfect? It is a beginning, an entrance. We often widen our eyes and raise our eyebrows at students who perform their Arangetram ‘too early’. At […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: Arangetram, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, India, performance, programme

Baby Krishna

January 21, 2014 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Finally, here are a few photographs of the baby that everyone loved so much. It’s a doll, yes, a doll, made by my French mother. It’s not a real baby, no. We dressed it (her) as Baby Krishna for our performance in December – here are a few pictures!

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: art, Bharatanatyam, culture, France, French, India, performance, programme

PMC Award!

December 31, 2013 by Varsha Seshan 3 Comments

When we introduce my teacher, we always talk about the prestigious Iyal Isai Nadagam award that she received. We have so many things to say about her, about countries she’s toured and things she has achieved. This time, we had the privilege of being present when Guru Mythili Raghavan received an award from the Pune […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, guru, Mythili Raghavan, performance, programme

Performed Yesterday!

December 18, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

There’s nothing in the world like the thrill of performing. Even if it’s just a tiny performance at my teacher’s place. Nothing much went wrong. There were no black-outs, but that was okay.I was to sit on a small wooden stool for one scene, but no one but I seemed to know where the stool […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

Performing on Tuesday

December 14, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

The thrill of performing is here again! A little performance, a private performance this time – not on a stage, and for barely twenty people. “We’ll do it in a very simple way,” said my teacher. “Those who are playing boys will dress in salwar-kameez. The girls will wear practice saris.” Doing it at my […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

Yesterday

September 14, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Yesterday, we performed again. We were early. The audience was late. We started half an hour late, after our lovely organiser called out on the mike to the society and large, “Green Acres, come on, wake up! Get up and come to the clubhouse!” We took our own music system – a largish one that […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

Performing today!

September 13, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

When we performed on Ganesh Chaturti for our society, despite all the hitches, we were asked to repeat our performance. We’re not quite repeating it; we’ve chosen different pieces this time. Our encore will be performed today; I hope it’s better than the last one!

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

Last Evening’s Performance

September 10, 2013 by Varsha Seshan 2 Comments

I have no pictures yet, but I can’t resist sharing yet another performance story. First of all, we were ‘late’. Apparently we were expected there by 7:30. Except that we were told we would begin at 8. Being the children of the society (well, we were children when we performed 13 years ago!), we were […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

Performing this evening!

September 9, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

It’s been ages since my sister and I performed together at a programme organised by our society. I remember the time, ages ago, when the two of us practised on the little round stage in the lawn. It was in 97 or 98. How far we’ve come since then! We played our music on audio […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

Back from Indore

July 8, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

A magnificent wooden stage – 50 feet long, 30 feet wide … Infrastructure that allowed us to use lights in a way that we have never done before … Guru Mythili Raghavan, determined to give her best to Kasturitilakam … Eleven dancers – all excited, all nervous, all thrilled at the opportunity … Of course things […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

Main Nahin Makhan Khayo

July 6, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

One of the highlights of this evening’s performance: The gopis carried tales to Yashoda, complaining time and again about how Krishna stole butter from them. But naughty little Krishna convinced his mother not to believe any of the complaints the other gopis made about him. When Krishna stole butter in his own house, however, things […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

Kasturitilakam

July 5, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Timeless, beautiful, expressive. Dance is all three, and much more. Classical dance in India is a language. With its ancient origins, it is a medium of communicating knowledge, expressing emotions and creating aesthetic pleasure. Kasturitilakam – conceived and choreographed by Guru Mythili Raghavan – explores each of these dimensions. Lord Krishna, playing his divine, melodious […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

Performing at Indore

July 4, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

The Academy of Indian Dances will be presenting Kasturitilakam – episodes from the life of Lord Krishna – everyone is welcome! Venue: IIM, Indore Date: 6th July, 2013 Time: 18:30 Credits: Choreography: Guru Mythili Raghavan Make-up: Shri Mohan and Smt Lakshmi Music compilation: Friends Studio, Pune Dancers: Ashwini Sashital, Charulatha Ramesha, Dhwani Lalai, Nisha Seshan, Pooja Shetty, […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

Performing in Renage

July 1, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

A very dear friend of my sister’s organised a performance for us at a chapel in Renage. That was when we learned what effective publicity is. Michèle, who, I should mention, is in her seventies, did absolutely everything to make people come for our performance. She, helped by two friends, went (literally) from pillar to […]

Filed Under: Dance, Travel Tagged With: academy, art, Bharatanatyam, culture, France, French, India, performance, programme

Arangetram!

June 28, 2013 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Anushka Iyer and Riya Dash will be performing their Arangetram today! The Arangetram is the maiden performance of a dancer, during which she attempts to convey her understanding of her art form to a discerning audience in the presence of her guru. Venue: Tilak Smarak Mandir Date and time: 28th June 2013; 17:45 Credits Nattuvangam: […]

Filed Under: Dance Tagged With: academy, Arangetram, Bharatanatyam, culture, performance, programme

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