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.
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We begin with girlhood, associated with fun and play. Young girls performing a kolattam will represent this stage of life.
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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.
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Next, we depict motherhood, exploring the special bond between a mother and her child.
Perhaps the most striking description of a woman is the portrayal of the goddess. Shankari, the mother of the universe, the power that removes the darkness in our souls … We worship her!
And finally, we approach the woman as a guru. Through our own guru, Smt Mythili Raghavan, we have come to experience the joy of learning a beautiful art form with dedication and discipline. We pay a tribute to her, and beyond her to her own teacher, Rukmini Devi Arundale.
I hope to see you there!
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