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Chennai based Bharatanatyam dancer Parvathi Ravi Ghantasala recently toured UK, to present two of her dance productions, 'Annamaiyah' and 'Utchi Thilagam'. In this exclusive column, Parvathi shares her experiences with Kutcheribuzz readers...

"Our first programme was at New Castle on 4 June, 2005 organized by Kalapremi, a cultural organization at New Castle. It was held at Jubilee Theatre. This auditorium was transformed into a beautiful setting, after the stage was decked up with all the props carried from India for the ballet Annamaiya.

This show was well appreciated and also made everybody speak of Annamaiya.

London based mridangist Balachander was a great support. We stayed at his residence and we should say that we did not miss India at any point, because of the care and affection he showered on us.

The next programme was scheduled on 12 June at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, London. Students of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan danced alongwith me in the dance-drama 'Utchi Thilagam'. So confident and poised was their approach to dance. We were amazed to see their dedication and interest in this artform.

It should also be mentioned that it was examination time for the school students there. For about five days prior to the programme, the rehearsals lasted for almost four hours from 6 pm to 10 pm. This strenuous practice resulted in a vibrant performance at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Wherever we go, we do not compromise on the light and stage settings. The appealing stage decor and sequence where Goddess Abirami throws her 'thadangam' to show full moon to the Abirama Buttar, was well received by the audience.

The next morning we had to leave after giving our last leg of calls to all our new and old friends, and fly back to India to find that we didn't escape the Madras summer!

The two dance-dramas were conceived by Justice K.S. Bakthavatsalam and choreographed by my Guru Krishnakumari Narendran. Behind these projects were maestros like L. Vaidyanathan, K.J Yesudas and D. Pasupathi whose contributions were in terms of compiling and rendering high quality music. My student Divya Umakanth, who is doing her Masters in Architecture at a local university had joined me there. Mathura Vishwanath, disciple of A. Lakshman accompanied me. The students from Bhavan who joined me were Seetha Nandakumar, Lakshmi, Nivedini, Arani, Shobana and Vaishnavi.

Parvathi Ravi Ghantasala runs Kalapradarshini, a dance school in Chennai. She can be contacted at kalapradarshini@sify.com

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