Report 

A Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi Jugalbandi 
- Rekha Kamireddy 
e-mail: srinovember@yahoo.com 
 
 
December 7, 2006  

 
On Sept 23, 2006, Hindu Temple Cultural Society, Bridgewater, NJ, USA organized a Jugalbandi between Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi schools of Indian classical dance. The evening proved to be an enchanting experience for the audience. It included a variety of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dances along with a vibrant fusion of both the art forms jointly choreographed by Suba Ramesh Parmar (artistic director - Subhanjali School of performing arts) and Divya Yeluri (artistic director - Nritya Madhavi School of Dance).  

It started with Vinayaka Koutvam, a Balamuralikrishna composition, in the Kuchipudi style. The item was well choreographed in both styles, bringing out the beauty of each style and was performed by Rashmi Srinivas and Natasha Antony in Kuchipudi style & Dhanya Chandramohan, Sumana Ramakrishnan, Shobana Raj and Monalisa Dhobley in Bharatanatyam style. 

This was followed by Koluvaitiva in Kuchipudi style with Swarna Racha, Anita Reddy, Chandralekha Kovvali, Parijata Mullagiri and Apoorva Mallampati as Lord Ranganatha. Then, it was a Varnam in Bharatanatyam after which Rashmi Srinivas and Natasha Antony performed the popular Tulsidas Bhajan "Sri Rama Chandra Krupalu" with lot of devotion and involvement. The audience felt involved in the episodes that extended up to Sri Rama Chandra Pattabhishekam. 

An Ashtalakshmi Keertana performed by young students of Subhanjali was well coordinated. The show proceeded with Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dances one after another. There were two solo items, one in the Kuchipudi style (Narayaneeyam) performed by Parijatha Mullagiri, a senior student of Divya Yeluri and the other was a folk dance by Madhumita Parmar, daughter of Subha Parmar. Fast paced Jathiswaram in ragam Athana and the ever so popular plate dance 'Neelamegha Sareera Tarangam' in Kuchipudi style and a very good presentation of the fusion of both styles to Balamurali's Kuntalavarali Tillana deserve special mention.  

All in all, the whole program was a delight to watch.
 

Rekha Kamireddy is a dancer and instructor in Nritya Madhavi School of Dance.