“A festival of Dance” by eminent dance critic Guru Vijay Shankar in the “Afternoon”

A festival of dance.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

BY VIJAY SHANKER

THE two-day ‘Raindrops dance festival’ was organised by the Sam Ved Society of Performing Arts at the P. L. Deshpande auditorium in Prabhadevi last week. It was a pleasure to watch talented dancers from across the country performing with a lot of enthusiasm, for which the credit undoubtedly goes to the director of Sam Ved, Guru Uma Dogra, who is also a well-known Kathak exponent.

The dancers, who featured in the festival, were Kuchipudi dancers Priya Rajeev and Sanskriti Chatterjee, Bharatanatyam dancers Dr. Jyotsna Jagannathan, Chitra Dalvi, Oddisi dancer Kautstvi Sarkar, Kathak dancer Rachana Parulkar and senior dancers Pallavi Krishnan for Mohiniattam and Guru Shama Bhate for Kathak

Priya and Sanksriti are the disciples of Guru Ramachandra Murthy of Kuchipudi Kala Kendra, Mumbai. Besides the number on Lord Rangasayi, the duo scored well in the Tarangam as they danced to perfect rhythm. With more concentration on the finer aspects of Kuchipudi, they can really become fine exponents. Jyotsna’s Bharatanatyam performance was noteworthy for its precise and elegant execution of movements and a fine command over expressional dancing. In fact, Jytosna reminded me of the seasoned dancer Leela Samson.

Accomplished Mohiniattam exponent Pallavi performed with lyrical grace and dignity, commencing the performance with a number in praise of Lord Ganapati. Pallavi scored in the ‘abhinaya’ number too. Besides several performances to her credit, Pallavi has established the Lasya Academy of Dance in Thrissur and trains young aspirants.

Rachana is the talented disciple of Guru Uma Dogra. She scored well both in pure dance and in the expressional number ‘Lataki Lataki’ describing the gait of Krishna. Chitra’s performance was noteworthy for its vivacious quality. She is the disciple of Guru Sandhya Puercha and her execution of the ‘sapta tandavam’ was amazing.

Blessed with beautiful eyes, Kaustvi has all the qualities of a fine Odissi dancer. Her interpretation of goddess Durga was excellent. Seasoned Kathak danseuse and teacher Guru Shama Bhate was brilliant in her performance, along with her talented students. But, one was wondering as to why she did not apply any make-up.

On the whole, it was a wonderful dance festival.

Kuchipudi's most notable guru

Guru Shri Ramchandram Murthy,Mumbai.

Born on 9th of August ,1968 to a traditional Brahmin family in the sleepy village of Kuchipudi, Guru Shri Ramchandram Murthy has been serving for the propagation of the Kuchipudi art form of Classical dance for a very long time .He was first initiated into the world of dancing by none other than the legendary Kuchipudi dance  maestro Padmabhushan guru Dr.Vempati Chinna Satyam in Madras.Today living in Mumbai,he has become a name synonymous with kuchipudi in India.

Under the watchful eye of his beloved guruji,Guru Shri.Ramchandram Murthy underwent rigorous training in Kuchipudi dance,carnatic music and the nattuvangam.With his mastery on the difficult talas of the “carnatic” genre of music,he has become one of the most sought after nattuvanar in India.Guru Shri.Ramchandram Murthy has worked closely with many great artists.To name a few Padmabhushan Vempati Chinna Satyam,ShantaRati Mishra,Jayarama and Vanashree Rao,Madhuri Majumdar,etc….

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