Sangeeth Natak Academi organised a Festival of Dances entitled “Nritya Sanrachna” in Hyderabad. The festival, which presented several dance forms of India, was conducted at Ravindra Bharathi from 21st to 25th of July 2008.
The dances were choreographed based on numbers, or Sankhya Yoga, for which India is renowned from ancient times.
All the 11 choreographers are doyens in their fields of endeavour. Most have been awarded prestigious titles like Padma Bhushan', Padma Shri”, SNA’s Distinguished Artiste and Kalaimamani for their achievements.
On the first day Bharati Shivaji and her troupe, presented Dasavathara (representing the 10 avatars of Vishnu in Mohiniattam) and Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant’s troupe depicted the “Navarasas” (the nine moods in Bharathanatyam).
They were followed by “Asta Nayika” (the eight prima donnas according to Indian literature) in Manipuri by Singhajit Singh from Imphal, “Sapta Aavarta” (the seven movements or orbits) by Prerana Shrimali from Delhi in Kathak, and “Shatrutu” (the six seasons) by Swapna Sundari in Vilasini Natyam which used to be practiced by Devadasis of Andhra Pradesh.
A contemporary dance recital was presented by Anita Ratnam from Chennai depicting “Pancha Bhuta” the five elements that make up our universe.
Then came presentations by Rajashree Shirke (Kathak) and Shashdhar Acharya (Chhau), “Chaturveda” the four Vedas and “Trimurti” the three manisfestations of the Hindu pantheon, respectively.
The finale saw Radha and Raja Reddy interpreting “Dvaita” (the number two), the dualism philosophy of Purusha (the creator) and Prakruti (the creation). The dup presented this in the Kuchipudi form,
Padma Subrahmanyam presented Bharatanatyam on the theme that explained “Advaita”, the non-dualism of Adi Shankara.
Sonali Mansingh focussed on “Shoonya”, the concept of zero in her Odissi recital.
This was the first time the rasikas of Hyderabad have been treated to such a wonderful variety of Indian dance forms. Every one of the performances was top notch. One may quibble whether contemporary dance has a place in this programme. Rasikas responded by attending in large numbers. On the final day, Ravindra Bharathi’s balcony was opened and yet the aisles were filled.
The programme was co-sponsored by the Department of Culture of A.P. Government and Shankarananda Kalakshetra of Hyderabad.
Ananda Shankar Jayant did a good job of coordinating the entire event.
