Solo Expressions in the Music Academy Festival - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman

 

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Article - The delicate balance: Notes from the in-between generation - Shreya Kumar Gopal Rao

Somedays, my life feels like a study in contrast. I wake up, surrounded by deadlines, ambitions, and dreams that stretch into the future. In the evening, I share the last bit of golden sunlight with intensive rhythms, twinkling gejje bells, and the resonant sound of the nattuvangam.

At 16, I’m rooted between two worlds, one full of speed, innovation, and palpable results, whereas the other is still, deep, and complete, like the slow crest of a wave. And yet, rather than clashing, these two worlds have begun to merge, shaping who I am becoming. Somewhere in their meeting, I discovered a delicate balance.

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Article - Dancing a holographic consciousness - Dr. Lata Surendra

'Highlighting the deep interconnectedness between the individual and the Universe'

My journey as a performer through six and a half decades is a personal exploration of a lifelong dance path, referencing the idea of a "holographic consciousness" as a way to describe the multifaceted, interconnected, and enduring nature of my identity and experience, which is deeply interwoven with the art form of Bharatanatyam. It involves my evolving with the dance form, a legacy from ancient times, and highlights how this journey has me connect me to my inner self, cultural heritage, and the broader human experience, even in this digital age. A six-decade journey implies mastery, adaptation, and a long-term engagement with the art, perhaps witnessing its changes and incorporating new influences, while yet remaining true to its roots. With the dance becoming an integral part of my inner core and outward expression, I awakened to evolving life inspiring the Art and Art contributing to Life and awakened to my integrated and interconnected 'sense of self', where me - the dancer, the art form, and the spiritual and cultural heritage of my country became parts of a unified whole, much like a hologram that captures a 3D image from a single point. The dance transformed as a journey of consciousness, where I sought to find myself through movement and expression to experience that in being all that I reached out with I was not distinct from life but life itself.

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Anita says...February 2026

 We are living in surreal times. It feels like the world is at the brink. That powers beyond our control are manipulating us like puppets - moving our limbs, controlling our thoughts in a sinister manner. That the vortex of chaos is any city far away from us, but very close - almost around us.

The new world architecture of power and positioning may not be what we in the dance and music world necessarily pay attention to. But it is happening. It is no more about performing at venues outside our geography. It is the weight of our reputations in the domestic market that will determine our brand value in the times ahead.

Several cultural organisations have put out messages that signal a pause. My eagerly awaited monthly mythology newsletter from the Joseph Campbell Institute came with the opening lines, "We are pausing our regular communications out of respect for the intensity of the moment we are collectively living through. At times of heightened emotion and uncertainty, we believe it is important to create space for reflection." This came from the USA, but the enormity of the geo political moment is not lost on anyone.

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Profile - Padmarani Rasiah Cantú - Anita Vallabh

 

Padmarani Rasiah Cantú is a distinguished Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, and teacher whose life and work reflect a rare confluence of artistic excellence, spiritual inquiry, and sustained pedagogy. Rooted in a lineage of cultural service and guided by eminent gurus, her decades-long journey has shaped generations of dancers across Sri Lanka and the United States. What follows is a portrait of an artiste whose commitment to the unity of art, devotion, and education continues to inspire across borders.

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Bharat Ratna! - Dance Matters: Column by Ashish Mohan Khokar

 

On the eve of Republic Day, the much coveted Padma Awards are announced. Artistes wait with bated breath to get the news. Some know much in advance, by aakash vani. Buzz in the air. In India, nothing can remain hidden! Bharat Ratna is rarely given to dancers, not one has received till date.

On the eve of Republic Day 2026, those who missed Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam's solo act on Bhagavad Gita - done for Drishti's 21st Dance Festival in Bangalore - missed out on one of the last greats of classical dance, in an all-time high performance that was punctuated by economy of movements, minimal need to impress and a talent so vast that no words are enough. Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam is not a human, she is an ocean of art.

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Music Academy's annual dance deluge - Taalam: column by Leela Venkataraman

The words of Duke Orsino in Shakespeare's twelfth Night, '...Music and more of it, so that the appetite may sicken and so die' substituted by the word Dance, would well express Music Academy's 19th Dance Festival! How else does one describe thirty-two performances in seven days? Taking in sixteen of them with a colleague taking in the other half, was enough to leave one bleary eyed. 

It was a good way to start with a group expression, Karuna Kavya conceived and choreographed by Urmila Sathyanarayanan, the latest dancer to merit Music Academy's Nritya Kalanidhi award. Presented by students of her institution Natya Sankalpa started in 1996, Karuna Kavya turned out to be a slick production based, very imaginatively, on legends behind poetic masterpieces of devotional literature, composed in myriad ways-- through visions, divine interventions, miracles and what have you - beyond the pale of man's daily existence. 

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