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A
lecture-demonstration on Rukmini Devi's Choreography,
was presented by Janardhanan, one of the senior dancers
and former Principal of Kalakshetra on the morning of
3 March. Here, eight selected scenes from the dance
dramas of Rukmini Devi were presented by the Kalakshetra
dancers. And attending this presentation were a galaxy
of senior dancers and the students of
Kalakshetra.
While discussing the speciality of Rukmini Devi's choreography,
Janardhanan explained that Rukmini Devi would stress
the importance of striking a balance between technically
perfect movements and conveying of emotions. He added
that the use of stage space and costuming were other
highlights.
The following scenes were demonstrated from the dance
dramas choreographed by Rukmini Devi:
* The scene of 'Panchapsaras'
featuring the dance of the five 'apsaras' from 'Sabari
Moksham' choreographed in 1965.
* The entry of 'Andal'
that makes use of a 'Therasheela'(screen) and the ball
game that Andal plays with her five friends.
* A scene from Ramayana,
where five dancers perform a folk sequence using small
wooden sticks in their hands. This dance is performed
in the 'Ramayana' dancedrama after Rama, Lakshmana and
Sita cross the river Ganga.
* The dance of the 'Kinaras'
or celestial dancers from the dancedrama, 'Paduka Pattabhishekam'
choreographed in 1960.
* The scene of 'Sagara
Vandanam' from the dance drama 'Choodamani Pradanam'
where Hanuman jumps from rock to rock and crosses the
ocean. Here, Balagopal as Hanuman lured the audience
yet again with his scintillating performance. In this
scene the dancers were clad in shades of blue and white
to depict the waves and they also depicted the aquatic
animals.
* In the scene where Hanuman,
Sugriva and Vaali alongwith their clan build the bridge
across the sea, movements from Bharatanatyam and Kathakali
were used and this scene also had the humour element.
* The battle between Rama
and Ravana from 'Mahapattabhishekam' choreographed in
1960. In this scene, the battle is depicted by four
apsaras instead of Rama and Ravana actually fighting
with each other.
* The thillana from 'Mahapattabhishekam'
concluded the lec-dem.
Attending this lec-dem were a galaxy of senior dancers
and gurus from N.S. Jayalakshmi, Kamalarani, Sarada
Hoffman, Adyar Lakshmanan, C.V. Chandrasekhar, Jaya
Chandrasekhar, Krishnaveni Lakshmanan, Chitra Visweswaran,
Lakshmi Viswanathan, Leela Samson, Malavika Sarukkai
and the Narasimhacharis to Priyadarsini Govind, Radhika
Shurajit and Revathi Ramachandran, besides a host of
young dancers and students of Kalakshetra.
Speaking at this event, Kamalarani, who has been associated
with Kalakshetra the last 55 years said that she has
being performing the nattuvangam for all the Kalakshetra
presentations untill recently. She also reminisced about
her association with Rukmini Devi.
Krishnaveni Lakshmanan who has now recovered from a
serious illness, said she was happy to be part of this
event. She said that she was privileged to play the
lead roles in the various dance dramas produced by Rukmini
Devi. She added that she played Sita in all the dance
dramas on Ramayana from 'Sita Swayamwaram' to 'Mahapattabhishekam'
which were choreographed over a period of 14 years.
Said Chitra Visweswaran, "The little drops of aesthetics
and the holistic vision of Rukmini Devi is a lesson
for many a generation to follow."
C.V. Chandrasekhar said, "The use of space was
something appealing. Using appropriate movements to
cover space without compromising on the quality of the
movement is to be noticed. The colour schemes in costumes
is something amazing."
Chandrasekhar also said how Rukmini Devi was very particular
about the material and colour to be used in the costumes.
He added, "It is very interesting to see how the
same jewellery used so many years ago are still preserved
and worn now."
N.S. Jayalakshmi said that plans are on to host a seminar
on 'Patra Pravesham' (entry of character roles).
On the whole a neat presentation, if well advertised
or promoted, this event could have drawn more dancers
and rasikas to see and enjoy the choreography of one
of India's greatest dancers...Rukmini Devi.
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