Kuchipudi for the soul

It is after many years that Yamini Reddy, disciple and daughter of well-known Kuchipudi dance couple Raja and Radha Reddy, ventured to publicly perform a traditional Kuchipudi Yakshagana, Usha Parinayam and Varnam, as part of the Nartanam Conclave 2018. It was also one of those rare performances where Raja Reddy sat in the audience to watch her perform. 

Says Yamini, “For most performances, my father is backstage prompting the accompanying musicians and correcting them. On the insistence of the organiser Madhavi Puranam, I decided to do these traditional Kuchipudi items. Many a times, I perform with a little contemporary touch for these fast-changing times. Tradition is most important but at the same time there is an equal need for creativity and new thoughts emerging in the performance scenario. Do you know that our family has performed Kuchipudi dance set to the Hindi songs of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Abida Parveen? After all, there is a need for the audience to follow the language so that they enjoy the performance. It  includes a dance performance set to My Sweet Lord by George Harrison and the poetry by Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. There is also a Kuchipudi dance performance set to Hindustani music - a tarana composed by sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar.” After the performance, Panditji exclaimed, “Looks like I composed this tarana for Kuchipudi dance.” 

Since her early childhood, Yamini was always very keen on dancing. Her father, Raja Reddy recalls, “Yamini was about three years old and we always made it a point to dress her up in dance costume. We would keep her in the backstage area and promise her an opportunity to perform. During one of our performances, Yamini just walked onto the stage and wanted to perform. We were not sure but the audience insisted on her performing, and thus started her journey in dance.” Yamini adds, “Whenever we had guests at home, I would insist on performing for them and make them watch my performance. I always remember the hard work put in by my parents. I used to leave for school watching my parents busy in rehearsals only to find them still practicing when I came back from school.”

Yamini believes that dance performance is all about teamwork. “A dance performance always requires good music. We spend hours in rehearsals with a relatively large team of accompanists. World over, I have seen many dance ballet productions in Russia and France. I wonder how their teams meticulously plan and execute a performance.” 

Adding, “They are very committed, serious and have excellent coordination skills to organise a huge production. Any creative pursuit would always need substantial funds. Experimental and path-breaking projects are funded very well. We need to be serious about our art and practice it regularly. Dance can always help people become better human beings.”