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News Round UpJuly 14, 2005
Dancing in Bellary
By Chitra Arvind / Bangalore
 

Chitra Arvind is a Bangalore-based choreographer, dancer, teacher and performing artiste. She is a Graduate from the Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography (Director Guru Maya Rao) securing first rank and has a Vidwat in Bharatanatyam.

Trained by Guru Lalitha Srinivasan, Director Nupura, She is a graded artist of Doordarshan, Bangalore, in the classical styles of Bharatanatyam and Kathak.

She has worked in London for over five years with leading contemporary dance choreographers including Shobana Jeyasingh, Wayne Mc Gregor, Laurie Booth as a rehearsal director, performer and teacher.

Trained from The Place, London, in Western Contemporary dance techniques including Graham, Cunningham, Release and Indian martial art forms of Kalaripayattu and Chhau. Chitra has performed in India and abroad.

A Bharatanatyam recital in Bellary?

People wonder if there is an audience for dance in this Karnataka town. Well, I performed at Raghava Kala Mandira, Bellar,y last evening (July 8) and the packed audience appreciated it very much.. I started with Khanda Alaripu, which included Ugabhoga by Sri Purandaradasa in Raga Mohana at the tail end of the alaripu. This is a speciality of the Mysore style of Bharatanatyam.

The next item was a Ranga geeta – "Kande na Natarajana” in praise of Lord Shiva in Raga Latangi set to Adi tala. The third item was a kriti of Mutthuswamy Dikshitar- "Govardhana Girisham”, which started with a shloka from Krishnakarnamruta – “Kasturi tilakam”in Raga Hindola set to Rupaka tala.

Next I performed Jayadeva’s Dashavatara in Ragamalika set to Adi tala. Following that was the popular bhajan of Sri Tulsidas – “Sri ramachandra kripalu bhajamana” in Raga Pantuvarali set to Misra chhapu tala. The final piece was a Brindavani Tillana, a composition of Sri Balamuralikrishna in Adi tala. My Guru Lalitha Srinivasan, Nupura, Bangalore, has choreographed all the dance pieces.

There were about 350 people in the audience, which according to the auditorium manager is a big number for classical dance performances. Also I spoke to a few people around and gathered that there is hardly any well-trained dance teacher in Bellary. The children in this town in Karnataka (in south India) are very interested and there are a couple of dance teachers around but that they do not teach methodically.

My program was conducted under the auspices of the Infosys Foundation and The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore. The good news is that the Bhavan is starting a branch in Bellary in a year’s time. I was taken to see the place where the construction for this centre has just started. Also I met the Chairperson of Bhavan, Bellary, P Radhakrishna Rao and the Secretary, Pola Radhakrishna. They are very enthusiastic about the project. They were happy that my performance gave them a lot of publicity for the oncoming Bhavan project.

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