Maharashtra Cultural Centre has invited the Academy of Indian Dances to perform for Urja, a classical dance festival. For this performance, we've taken an old theme, one that we presented in 2012, Naaritva: Exploring Womanhood. The performance explores the journey of a woman through traditional pieces, both classical and folk.We begin with girlhood, associated with fun and play. Young girls performing a kolattam will represent this stage of life.What is growing up without friendship and bonding? And when there's exciting gossip to share, friendship becomes even more spicy! The journey of a woman would be incomplete without friendship!And then comes love, the beautiful shringara rasa. The intimacy of young love goes with playfulness, teasing, love and longing.Next, we depict motherhood, exploring the special bond between a mother and her child.Perhaps the … [Read more...]
Our Performance Last Week
Many things went wrong. Too many things went wrong.Mahatma Phule Sanskrutik Bhavan informed us on the 5th of December that the mayor required the hall on the 18th, so all performances scheduled for that day had been cancelled. And yes, our performance was scheduled for the 18th. 59 children were to perform. We had musicians coming in from Mumbai.And just like that, our world fell apart.Unlike at halls like Tilak Smarak Mandir, rehearsals are charged at the full rate too. We had a rehearsal booked for the 8th of December - and had paid Rs 17,250 for it already. And if we cancelled, we stood to lose 15%, at the very least."What dates are available?" we asked. "8 in the morning on the 17th." We found out - our vocalist was unavailable. "What else?" we asked. "8 in the morning on the 11th." And we agreed.Take a moment to think about this: a performance at 8 in … [Read more...]
Performance at Tirupathi
As a child watching a cricket match live on television, I remember asking my grandfather, "How does the camera know where to look?" Two days ago, looking at five people sitting together and ensuring that our performance was screened live all over the world, I remembered my question and smiled.Performing in Tirupathi was an experience that I could never have imagined. All artistes dream of full houses, yes. At Tirupathi, it was impossible to count how many people were sitting there and watching us perform. Streams and streams of people kept joining the crowd, sitting on the steps and watching us dance.During Rama Namama Krishna Namama, when Krishna showed Arjuna his Vishwaroopam, the whole audience was with us. It was a powerful sensation - over a thousand people connected by a single emotion, a sense of wonder and exaltation. My hair stood on end as I stood in the wings and … [Read more...]
Kalakshetra 2015
One year ago, three of us had the privilege of dancing at Kalakshetra in front of my teacher's teachers. I can't believe that a year has passed since that wonderful day that was so filled with emotion.We were scared, but our teacher was terrified - she had to play the nattuvangam on the same stage that her teachers had played. What would they say about her? What would they say about her students? Her choreography? Would they criticise her? Would they criticise us? Would they be upset?And the three of us ... Were we capable? Would we let our beloved teacher down? Would we let our families down? They had all come for us - just for us! This was not a 300-rupee concert ticket. It was a ticket to Chennai and back, plus everything else.And not just our family - our friends, incredible people, had come to watch us. They did not live in Chennai and just drop in. We had friends … [Read more...]
Performing on 8 May!
I’ve lost count of the number of times people have asked me when we’re performing in Pune. Finally, here we go!The senior students of the Academy of Indian Dances bring to you a traditional Bharatanatyam programme, featuring a range of pieces that explore nritta, nritya and natya. Beginning with an invocatory dance, we move on to a pure nritta composition, raagamaalikai jatiswaram.The longest and most elaborate piece compares the lives of Rama and Krishna, exploring the abhinaya aspect of Bharatanatyam to the fullest. The devotee wonders which of the two gods to worship. Krishna was born in a dark prison in the middle of the night; Rama was born in the grandeur of a palace, amidst great joy! As a child, Krishna gave moksha to two gandharvas. The pure-hearted Rama granted salvation to Ahalya. Krishna snatched Rukmini away from her brother and married her; Rama broke Shiva's … [Read more...]
Our Performance on Sunday
Performing for three minutes is often more trouble than it's worth ... not this time, though.People often assume that a three-minute performance is no big deal. Let's look at it this way, though. Leaving aside the time we take to choreograph, learn, coordinate and practise, we could just look at the day we perform. On Sunday, we performed at Empress Garden for Basant Utsav. The programme started at 9 in the morning.Wind back the clock. You need to factor in make-up, hair, costume and travel. We met at 6 to start. We got ready, made our way to Empress Garden, hung around until we performed ... And before we knew it, we were off stage again.But it was worth it simply because Empress Garden is such a lovely place to perform! Surrounded by trees, leaves crunching under our feet, a grey hornbill above us ...We were dressed and ready, well in time to take many, many … [Read more...]
Paying a Tribute – Sakal Times
Thank you, Sakal Times, for the article about our Kalakshetra performance! … [Read more...]
Kalakshetra Performance – The New Indian Express
Yes, we really performed. Even though the picture does not show it, I was really there too. … [Read more...]
Performing at Kalakshetra!
To say that we are honoured, privileged and humbled all at the same time is to say nothing at all. We are going to perform at Kalakshetra, the place where our beloved guru became the dancer and person she is ... What words of mine can begin to touch upon all our thoughts and feelings?Like a little girl, I will say I am excited. I have butterflies in my stomach, but I am almost giddy with excitement. I am happy, nervous and determined to do my best.What warms my heart is that we have friends from Pune who are coming all the way there just to watch us. It fills me with joy, love and gratitude. Being a dancer is this - being filled with emotion - fleeting, transient emotion, as well as deep, lasting emotion.If you are in or around Chennai, please come. It will make us very happy. Do pass the word too. … [Read more...]
Paid Artists
I have been learning dance for 22 years. Yes, that is a lot. Often, people ask us whether this means that we have our own dance classes. No. That is not the only reason to learn dance."How much would you charge for a performance?" is the next question. "It depends on what sort of performance it is," I reply. "If you want a full-fledged dance drama, obviously, our cost is higher, so we charge more."If it is not a dance drama, people ask, "Why is it so expensive?"I never know what to reply. I have so many ideas in my head, but I think, "Isn't it obvious?"1) We practise a lot. If we need to put up something that is professional, it is necessary, don't you think? 2) If you want us to be "professional", at some level, you accept that performance is our source of income. We perform three or four times a year, usually. Calculate how much a performance ought to cost if you think of it in … [Read more...]