Radhe Jaggi, daughter of the world renowned spiritual master Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev has had the fortune of being trained in Bharatanatyam at Kalakshetra, an arts institution founded by the legendary Rukmini Devi Arundale. And, the dancer is in the city to perform as a part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Kalasagaram annual cultural festival of music, 2017.
Radhe’s mother had always longed to be a dancer and perhaps that dream got fulfilled when Radhe joined Kalakshetra. Says Radhe, “After I completed my education at Rishi valley, I went to Kalakshetra to pursue my training in Bharatanatyam. I’ve been fortunate to get trained under a seasoned guru like Leela Samson. For me, renowned performers like Alarmel Valli and Madhavi Mudgal have always been a source of inspiration.
For Radhe, dance has always shown the way of moving forward in life. “Bharatanatyam has a complex technique which can be imbibed through hard work. Practice of this art form keeps you grounded in life.” Radhe has happy memories of her previous visit to Hyderabad. “I had been here for a performance at the Balaji Temple Utsav. The audience of Hyderabad is very receptive. Majority of Bharatanatyam compositions are either in Telugu or Sanskrit, so it has helped the art form to reach the discerning audience here.” When it comes to the reaction of her father Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev on her first performance, Radhe blushes and says, “He has very sharp eyes. He sees certain things that I don’t see.”
Radhe has toured many countries including South Korea, London and Malaysia. “Abroad, the audience understands and tries to follow the technical proficiency in a performance. They appreciate minute details. But since they have not been brought up in our culture, sometimes they miss out on the larger picture. I have also toured with the Spanda dance group of Leela Samson. I’ve been doing choreography to develop small pieces of creative works, but, my focus has always been on the traditional repertoire. The framework of every traditional dance piece may be the same, but each dancer can have a different creative approach to bring out its essence,” says Radhe.
