I am a great admirer of Bijon Mukherjee, an indefatigable organizer, art
lover and never-say-die enthusiast, who after retiring from
Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), upon a suggestion of Lalit
Mansingh, the then Director General of ICCR, started an institution
Impresario India, presenting group choreographic works in ‘ National
Festival of New Dance Choreography’ annually.
For the past 14 years, Bijon-da has organized several other functions
covering Rabindra Sangeet, recitation of poetry, plays, folk dances and
what have you. He cast his net wide and encouraged several artistes. The
annual National Festival of New Dance Choreography became extremely
popular and brought to the Capital senior and young choreographers with
their new group works, in different dance forms, including Sattriya
recently recognized as the eighth classical dance form.
Read the review in the site
Now in its 3rd edition, Ashtapadi Festival of dance featuring classic,
recent and new choreography of Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda (March 9 & 10)
at the Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi, received a rousing reception. Not a
seat was vacant and the rasikas stood on the side and sat on the
gangway. It was presented by the Sri Geetagovinda Pratishthan,
Puducherry, established by scholar and cultural organizer late Dr.
Raghunath Pani in 2001 to propagate Indian and Odishan culture. His
younger brother, the noted scholar and musicologist, Dr. Subas Pani, who
has brought out Cds of all the ashtapadis of the Gita Govinda as
Sampoorna Geetagovinda, presented during two former editions of the
festival, new choreography to the songs of Gita Govinda in Odissi.
This year in the third edition, the festival expanded its scope to
feature the Gita Govinda in major classical dance forms of India. Of the
twenty four songs, thirteen songs were presented in four dance forms -
Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kuchipudi and Mohiniattam. Of these, eight dance
numbers were specially choreographed in these four forms and were
presented for the first time. Dr. Subas Pani wears many hats including
that of an author, translator, composer, scholar with research interests
in India’s cultural heritage, Jagannatha and Jayadeva. As a
creative director of the festival, he had curated the entire festival
along with his daughter Sanhati Pani, the festival director.
Read the review in the site
By a fortuitous circumstance during my visit to Gujarat both at Baroda
and Ahmedabad, I was lucky to attend and review two major dance
festivals Nritya Parva and 11th Kathak Nritya Sangeet Mahotsav at both
the cities.
It was Kathak exponents, husband and wife team of Maulik Shah and Ishira
Parikh, who introduced me to Chandan Thakore, Bharatanatyam exponent,
teacher and choreographer. I was delighted to meet him and learn a lot
about Nrityabharati institute established by his mother, the well known
guru Elakshi Thakore....
Chandan invited me to attend the 10th National Dance Festival (Feb 18 –
21) at Samutkarsha, near Prahlad Nagar. The venue accommodates nearly a
thousand people. With a large stage with black backdrop and better
viewing facilities and commendable sound system and lighting, the
performances by participating dancers were engaging. On the
opening night, in Naari choreographed by Chandan, young dancers dwelt
upon the theme of women through ages. From Vedic age, women of eminence
like Gargi and others, have been respected for not only their beauty but
also intelligence. Praising them the journey of women through ages has
been quite fascinating. Woman as mother, wife, friend, playing several
roles is indeed Shakti. The feminine principle was well emphasized.
Read the review in the site
(Final excerpt from the Phd thesis ‘Dance in the urban culture’ under the guidance of Dr. Sharit Bhowmik.)
The fact that scholars and theoreticians found the performing arts
worthy of their attention from a very early period is a significant
indication of attitudes toward dance and drama. However this interest
was not the sole force governing the relationships of dance and dancers
to society in general. Gradually many changes took place in the
performing arts. Art became a product of India’s caste system and the
practice of developing traditions of art within specific communities
indeed within families was observed. The schools of art descended
through teacher to disciple lineages. Since professional dancers
traditionally tended to belong to specific communities within the caste
system and they earned their livelihood through it, amateur performers
were rare. The castes from which dancers and musicians were drawn, like
those supplying sculptors and painters were comparatively low on the
ancient systematic scale of ritual purity and social status. There were
some exceptions where some forms of music and dance drama were performed
by brahmans, exclusively by males. The performing communities of brahmans were marked lower on hierarchy as compared to those brahmans
whose special duties involved learning and teaching of the Vedas or
other ancient texts. Even the communities of dancers, had to be of
sufficient ritual purity to be allowed to perform within temple
premises. In Orissa for example, female temple dancers – maharis - actually performed before the sanctum, while boys impersonating female dancers – gotipuas
- performed in less exalted surroundings in other outer precincts. The
actor - dancers of Kutiyattam Sanskrit drama in Kerala who perform in
specially built theatres within the temple grounds are lower ranked brahmans according
to some authorities, according to others they are the highest among the
Kerala Ambalavasis or temple servants. The actresses and musicians of
Kutiyattam are of the next highest rank.
Read the article in the site
A three-day Bharatanatyam festival from March 1 to 3, 2013 showcasing
young and senior dancers from Bangalore was mounted at Ambedkar
Auditorium, Andhra Bhavan in Delhi by Samskruthi institution run by
Satyanarayana Raju. Usha RK in collaboration with Adilila
Foundation and Andhra Bhavan, New Delhi, helped in organizing it.
Read the review in the site
Hot on the heels of Nritya Parva 2013 in memory of Anjali Merh by Anjali
Memorial Committee, followed the 11th Kathak Nritya Sangeet Mahotsav
organized by Kathak Darshan Trust on 16th and 17th February at the
Abhivyakti Sanskritik Sthal, the open air theatre that late Maharaja
Ranjitsingh Gaekwad established for the performing arts.
The renowned Kathak exponent from Baroda, Pt Jagdish Gangani, son of the
legendary traditional Kathak dancer of Jaipur gharana, Sunderlal
Gangani, has been organizing this festival for the last eleven years at
the same venue, drawing record crowds. Last year Shovana Narayan, Pandit
Birju Maharaj and Saswati Sen from Delhi were invited to perform. It
was a huge success. I had attended the performances and was delighted to
see Kathak being appreciated with such enthusiasm.
Read the review in the site
Now in its 39th year, Khajuraho Festival of dances has added several
features along with the festival. When one approached the festival venue
located on the Western complex of Chandella temples, one entered into
an area which covered several arts. Right from the delicious variety of
food of Madhya Pradesh, one moved on to see the looms, weavers weaving
amazing patterns on saris, block prints, then a potter, who carved out
beautiful shapes of earthen wares. A store next to it had publications
on art. From there on one entered the Art Mart, a welcome addition for
tourists to buy paintings. Adjacent to it was an exhibition of paintings
by artists from Madhya Pradesh, arranged in an eye catching manner.
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There are phases in one’s life when the spirit seeks an oasis; a space
where one can absorb, recharge and welcome a metaphoric stillness. I
experienced this much needed phase in Italy at the Teatro Tascabile di
Bergamo. This is how it happened.
Last year I was awarded the ‘Mohan Khokar award for excellence in Dance’
at the ‘Attendance’ awards. The Attendance awards were initiated in
2010 by Ashish and Elisabeth Khokar who along with an eminent panel of
jurists, acknowledge the contribution and sustained efforts of dance
practitioners, pioneers, choreographers, curators. Since last year, the
jury has been honoring senior gurus too. Unlike most awards which honour
an artiste with a citation and memento, a purse even, this award is
refreshingly different. The Attendance committee offers residencies and
presents awardees at prominent fora.
I was awarded a 2 week residency at Teatro Tascabile di Bergamo. Bergamo
is a stunningly beautiful medieval town tucked away at the foothills of
the Alps, about an hour’s drive from the vibrant and busy city of
Milano. From the time I was received at the airport, until the time I
returned, I was witness to the amazing warmth of my impeccable Italian
hosts.
Read the article in the site
