Entering its second year, the Nrutya Rangoli is a national dance festival with dancers as well as legends interacting and performing under one roof. A platform and a chance for dancers to showcase their talent and bring out the rich traditional and cultural dance heritage of India. This festival has been organised and curated by Dr Veena Murthy Vijay, a renowned danseuse and choreographer. Explaining the idea behind the festival Dr Veena says, “The academy of music has always promoted music and dance, and through this festival, they are providing a platform for artists. Nowadays, there are not many festivals promoted by art promoters, it is only individual dancers who try to do this.” This festival is one of the best platforms with a national approach to it. She adds, “Some legendary dancers like Padma Subrahmanyam, Maya Rao, Malavika Sarukkai etc have shared this space. This platform is perfect for artists to bring out tradition and culture that the country is known for.” The Nrutya Rangoli Festival hopes to subtly send out a message about how a person can lead a happy and wonderful life. She adds, “I feel that Indian culture is the only culture in the world where the principles of life, life skills and philosophy are subtly narrated through stories and this has helped us become an elite society.” The event will also have an interactive lab that will look into the pedagogy of traditional classical dances and where we have reached today. Dancers will be able to register and interact with the guru’s of different bani’s.
Divya Hoskere
Lalitha Srinivasan, who has been performing since the age of four has composed an act at the event. Srinivasan says, “I thought Varnam will be apt for this festival as it is very colourful and communicative. My group called Nupur will be performing Varna which is about Lord Krishna’s life story. They will be following the Mysore style of dance.” Dr KV Satyanarayana who will be receiving an award at the event will also have his group Kuchipudi Dance Ballet performing. This guru who has been dancing for the past 52 years, adds, “In Telugu poetry there are five main kavyas. We will be performing two of them called Goda Kalayanam and Sri Krishna Parijadham in the kuchipudi style. The act also has a little Sanskrit incorporated into it.” A group called Sridevi Nrutyashala mentored by Dr Sheela Unnikrishnan will also be performing. Dr Sheela elaborates, “The group will be performing the Mellatur style of dance. The performance is an edited version of the Leela Taranga Margam. We are doing a shorter version which w
orships and celebrates Lord Krishna and speaks about the love shared between Lord Krishna and Radha.” People can expect a fair mix of Bharatha-natayam, Kathak and Kuchipudi. The performances have many stories woven into the production. Dr Veena adds, “One can get to see and learn life values, especially now when we all are losing them, through these mythological stories.”
Lalitha Srinivasannivasan
The event is set to open on April 13 and will go on till April 15 and is being held at Chowdiah Memorial Hall.
