Natyanjali's scintillating dances light up Perur

The just-concluded Natyanjali Dance Festival literally lighted up the iconic Patteeswarar temple, Perur, in Coimbatore with a bouquet of nine stunning group presentations before packed audiences over three evenings.

As many as 120 dancers participated in this year's dance festival staged as usual within the precincts of the temple.In the festival, organised by Rotary Club of Coimbatore Metropolis for the 24th year, noted dance groups from Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Coimbatore offered their best foot forward in Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Kathak formats.

Innovative choreography was the hallmark of most group presentations that had the audience applauding its appreciation repeatedly. The tone was set on the opening day by the Coimbatore-based Sankara Natyalaya with its ‘Nithya Kanni’ choreographed by Guru Uma Gopalakrishnan.

The legend of Kanyakumari slaying the demon Banasura was presented as a beautiful bharatanatyam dance-drama with all the young dancers doing their roles with aplomb. In particular, Dhivya Darshini as Kanyakumari, was outstanding.

The dramatic episodes ranging from care-free young girl joyfully playing with her friends to expectantly waiting for her beloved Lord and getting frustrated by the trickery of Narada  and reducing the surroundings to sand to slaying of Banasura were all very creatively choreographed. Recorded music and vocal support by Bhavani Sai Kishore was brilliant.

Kalanjali of Chennai, the second group on the opening day, presented ‘EllamShiva Mayam’ as a vigourous thematic margam with relatively more mature dancers led by Guru Maya Shyam Sundar. It described the dazzling aura of Siva as the embodiment of ‘Om’. After the invocatory item Gajavadhana Karuna Sadana in Hindolam, the group did full justice to the evergreen Nattaikurunji varnam ‘Sami Naan Unga Adimai’ of Papanasam Sivan. The yearning for a glance from Siva was evocatively presented with competent abhinaya along with aesthetically pleasing group choreography.

Another eye-catching item was ‘Kaliyuga Varadhan’ in Brindavani Saranga in which Lord Muruga was shown as vanquishing the demon Surapadman. The third and final offering of the evening was the ‘Kuchipudi Vaibhavam’ presentation by Guru Vyjayanthi Kashi's Shambavi Dance Ensemble, Bengaluru. By a strange coincidence, this group also showcased the legend of the ‘eternal kanya’-Kanyakumari and her slaying of Banasura, albeit in the more theatrical kuchipudi format.  A vigourous Tandava nrittya and a special Krishna Leela item Neela Megha Sareera  (raga Mohanam) made a symbolic representation of life with the dancers dancing on plate rims.

The second day of the festival witnessed two very strong presentations, one each in bharatanatyam and kuchipudi styles. The first was ‘Sharavanabhava’ by the students of Rasika Dance Academy, Benguluru, run by noted bharatanatyam gurus Kiran Subramaniyam and Sandhya Subramaniyam.

Right from Pushpanjali to Tillana, the group presented dances that were as attractively executed as they were superbly choreographed.  The well-honed dance movements involving impeccable footwork with pleasing synchronised group formations and abhinaya captivated the audience.

Murugan Kavuthuvam, depicting portraying the legend of the demon Surapadman by Murugan and Aru Padai Veedu in which the real meaning of the pranavamantra ‘Om’ is explained by him to his father Siva himself and the amusing episode of tricking Valli and winning her hand, was also a big hit. ‘Kavadi Chindu’ in the folk genre and the classic Rasikapriya thillana choreographed with snake movements by Kiran provided a fitting finale to his group's presentation.

Hardly had the audience time to recover from the impact of this performance, than it was treated to another scintillating presentation, this time in kuchipudi style by Yamini Reddy, the daughter-disciple of the famous kuchipudi duo Raja and Radha Reddy. Her extraordinary karnas, brilliant exposition of navarasas and fluid movements repeatedly drew applause from an appreciative audience. Yamini then presented ShringaraLahiri in praise of Goddess Gowri and Tarangam, incorporating the spectacular plate rim dance, along with the students of her dance school in Hyderabad.

‘Thakita Thath Jham’, the third offering of the evening by Kripa Center of Fine Arts, Chennai, was more of an exploration of layam, with a dramatic depiction of daily life rhythms. It, however, began to drag a bit after a while.

The opening presentation of the final day was by students of Nrithyangana School of Dance Coimbatore. Guru Sherin George chose to feature very young dancers as well in group items that included the famous Bharati composition Nattanam Aadinar in Vasantha.

The second presentation of the evening was an enthralling ‘Pravanavam’ by Sri Devi Nrithyalaya of Chennai.  ‘Anbe Siva’ Mohana Varnam and the Riti Gowla Tillana of Kuldeep Pai were the highlights of their performance that had neatly executed jattis with clear adavus and excellent coordination among the dancers. Guru Sheela Unnikrishnan used the junior and senior dancers imaginatively in separate sections as well as weaving them in attractive formations. Recorded music and vocals by Kuldeep Pai lent a vital support to the presentation.

The finale of the festival saw a wonderful kathak presentation ‘Nupoor’ by Guru Hari and Chetana of Bengaluru. Their interpretation of the Swati Tirunal composition ‘Radha Krishna’ in Brindavani Saranga was a standout, as were the pure dance sequences along with their students.

A significant feature of every Natyanjali festival is that all dancers offer their obeisance to Lord Nataraja inside the temple in the morning of their performances. As the curtains came down, Natyanjali festival director S. Gurumurthy announced that in the next silver jubilee year many more classical dance groups would be presented over five days.

(A former senior journalist avidly interested in classical Indian performing arts, the writer is the Coimbatore convener  of Spicmacay,  the nationwide movement for promoting Indian classical music and culture among the youth)