Madhavam by Rajashree Warrier 
- Nanditha Prabhu, Chennai  
e-mail: prabhu.nandu@gmail.com 
 
August 5, 2009 

 
'Madhavam,' a Bharatanatyam presentation by Rajashree Warrier at the Dasyam Swati Tirunal Festival, was in praise of Lord Vishnu, Preserver among the Trinity. The dancer aptly chose compositions of poet-patron Maharaja Swati Tirunal for the occasion. 

Rajashree Warrier had a good stage presence and a very expressive face, but one was at a loss to figure out which dance style she represented. She seemed to take on a Kuchipudi style while executing the adavus with bounces and jerks and while exploring her abhinaya, she tended to elaborate too much. 
     
She chose "Kamala Jasya," a well known dasavatara piece set to Ragamalika. Her strength was her abhinaya, but she needs to cultivate brevity. Her story line lacked clarity in places where it needed more emphasis, like the "avataroodesham" or the purpose behind each avatar. The dancer should work on precision and clarity in her abhinaya if it has to reach to the rasika. 
   
Rajashree Warrier's stage presence and nuanced expressional ability are her plus points. She holds promise as a dancer, so not to negate her main advantage of above average expressional skills, it is imperative that she learn the art of brevity and under statement. 
 

Nanditha Prabhu is a Mohiniattam and Bharatanatyam dancer, trained under her mother Kalamandalam Suganthi and Padma Subrahmanyam respectively. She runs her dance school Mythri Art Academy in Chennai.  

This review was written as part of the dance writing workshop conducted by narthaki.com from July 18 - 24, 2009 in Chennai.