Happy New Year to all who read this.
What a tremendous season we had in Madras last month. Crowds thronged
sabhas, new spaces, art galleries, malls for flash mob dance events and
cafes… there were people everywhere and the common mantra was – We want
excellence, artistry, aesthetics and emotion in a single evening! Even
if you are famous, idolized, iconic and gorgeous, WE WANT TO BE SHAKEN
AND STIRRED! NO LAZY DANCING PLEASE! With leisure time becoming more and
more precious, it is now mandated that all dancers need to deliver a
360 degree experience for their audiences. And only a few understand
this template.
ANDAL- ANDAL was a mega success. Standing room
only crowds, my grandmother in the first row weeping for my departed
mother, my relatives in full attendance, aging guru Adyar K Lakshman in
his special seat and the auditorium applauding and sniffing in
turns with delight and emotion as Pritha and I danced our hearts out.
Victor and Rex delivered their expected magic with the lighting and set
design and our year-long effort culminated in a capacity crowd of
delighted rasikas. Thank you all. (Amma, I fulfilled my promise to you
to bring Pritha back to dance, even if it was for a single performance!)
The dance conclave MAD AND DIVINE WOMEN was also a stunning success.
Guests and dancers from across the world gathered in the crowded
Mylapore sabha for three days of undiluted discussions and dancing from
excellent artistes and speakers. What stays in my mind are many frames
and flashes… Shanta Serbjeet Singh’s brilliant keynote address
followed by Dr. Archana Venkatesan’s crisp new take on the eternal Andal
story; Rajashree Shirke’s superb Katha-Kathakar style of telling
Marathi saint poetess Kanhopatra’s story (her performance was the
find of the conclave); Malavika’s soulful search for Andal in her
premiere that was embellished by Vasudha Ravi’s totally brilliant
singing; elder sister Priya Sarukkai’s intelligent presentation of
sensual translations of Andal’s later poetry; Mythili Prakash’s brave
attempt at understanding Akka Mahadevi, Narthaki Natraj’s lovely
opening item - Vinayaka Agaval, Zakir Hussain’s fervent, though
overdone Vaishnava ‘bhakti’, contemporary images from Maddhu
Nattraj’s tentative but sophisticated understanding of Kannada Saiva
poets and Rama Vaidyanathan’s electrifying finale on Lal Ded.
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