2015 Aug 1 - Arangetram by Abhinav and Ayushi Koppu

Abhinav and Ayushi Koppu successfully completed their brother-sister Bharathanatyam Arangetra on Aug 1, 2015 at the John A Ferguson High School auditorium.  We have not had a male artist go up to this stage among the South Florida based Indian community.  In that sense Abhinav is a trend setter and it is a proud moment for the entire community.  Hopefully many youngsters who watched Abhinav perform get motivated to join this beautiful art form.  Having two dancers on stage gave a lot of scope of choreography and abhinaya which was fully capitalized by the teacher Smt. Harija Sivakumar.  Our hearty congratulations go Vandana and Ajay Koppu and to their entire family.

Ayushi, in my mind, is a prodigy.  She has just completed her eighth grade.  Her dance was powerful where it needs to be and graceful when the part required it.  Her facial expressions were beyond her age.  Jayanthi aunty joins me in wishing her a very long dance career in addition to receiving whatever her heart desires.  We wish to witness a solo performance from Ayushi very soon.  God bless!

Before going to song-by-song, let me give a broad brush stroke.  The stage presence of both Ayushi and Abhinav was fantastic.  Excellent choreography through the performance especially well done in the Varnam piece.  There were ample opportunities for each dancer to show their talent.  Kali Kowthuvam was an extremely powerful performance by Ayushi especially with Madhu was singing with his soulful voice.  There was quite a variety in the song selection with a Javali and Abhang added to the repertoire.  Regarding the performance of the orchestra, the Varnam song was the highlight in Ragam Kalyani.  Sri Srinivas in Mridangam showed his speed and power.  Support from flautist and violinist was enjoyable.  The program flow could have been tighter.

Program started with a Ganesha sthuti followed by Pushpanjali. 

Allarippu in Khanda Chapu – here the dancers show how they have mastered the fundamentals of dance.  Synchronized dancing from the brother-sister combo was a treat to watch

Jathiswaram in Bhairavi/Rupakam – done solo by Abhinav.  He had a quick smile to captivate the audience.  Abhinav showed his mastery over this pure dance item.  Nice job!

Kali Kowthuvam in Revathi – solo by Ayushi.  Kali is a powerful version of Goddess Parvathi who destroys the demons and establishes order.  The Ragam was set to Revathi which brought out the power in the lyrics.  Ayushi simply transformed herself into the character.  Her facial expressions and abhinaya (or acting out the part) were simply superb.  Great work!

Varnam in Kalyani/Adi – this is the longest piece in a Bharatha Natyam performance.  It tests not only the skill but the endurance as well.  Both Abhinav and Ayushi passed the test.  There were several incidences in Krishna’s life was depicted by the dancers.  They beautifully depicted Krishna playing ball with other kids followed by the fight with Kaliya, the snake.  Simple incidence of Krishna throwing a stone to break the mud pots carried by the Gopi – lot of scope for bhava (or expressions), well done.  We all particularly enjoyed the scene of Kuchela visiting Sri Krishna.  Choreography was breathtaking.

Nee Uraippai in Ragamalika – solo by Abhinav.  Here Lord Rama was narrating to Hanuman a few episodes of his life with Sita.  Abhinav demonstrated his story telling ability very well here.

Javali in Kamas – quite a lilting tune.  Ayushi as a solo performer showed her ability to dance with speed, grace and expression. 

Adenamma in Paras – Shiva-Parvathi dance performed by both.  The highlight of the song was the demonstration of the Navarasa or nine forms of expressions – love, valor, humor, anger, compassion, disgust, fearful, wonder and peace.  Lot of scope for both the dancers to show their ability to emote.  Very pleasing performance.

Abhang – this type of songs show pure devotion to Lord Krishna of Pandaripur. 

Thillana in Madhuvanti – This is a joyous number purely based on rhythm and symmetric patterns. There were also many sculpted poses.  Beautifully rendered by Abhinav and Ayushi , a fitting finale to the performance.

Thank you Abhinav and Ayushi for a memorable performance and congratulations to the teacher Smt. Harija.

Jul 2015 - Ashrita Satchidanand - Bharathanrithyam Arangetram

Ms. Ashrita Satchidanand successfully completed her Bharatanrithyam Arangetram on Sun, Jun 12, 2015 at the beautiful Sunrise Civic Center Auditorium to a packed audience and also to a global online audience via live webcast.  It is very heartening to see the little girl who grew up in front of our eyes blossom into this beautiful dancer on stage today.  Jayanthi aunty joins me in congratulating Ashrita and her parents for this accomplishment.  It is always wonderful to witness the courage of an artist to agree to perform a solo Arangetram.  It will surely test what you are made of and Ashrita passed in flying colors.  It was a beautiful function from start to finish with neatly timed events keeping the audience enthralled and engaged.  Orchestra was new to the South Florida audience but has already stolen many hearts.  Prerana did a great job of being the madam of ceremony.

Overall, Ashrita was very graceful with a wonderful stage presence.  She was able to cover the length and breadth of the stage.  The symmetry she showed in the Thillana was striking.  Her mastery over abhinaya, acting out various parts in an episode, was evident even in the first song Gajavadana Beduve.  Ashrita demonstrated her abhinaya ability further in the Varnam by switching from one scene to another which is vastly different.  For example, after acting out a tragic scene such as Draupadi vastraparanam she acted out Krishna in Gokul.  Great job!  Now it is time to go for perfection in forms, expressions and speed.  Ashrita, you have a very good teacher who is dedicated to the art form.  I am sure you will make good use of the opportunity and grow like you mentioned in your speech.

Program started with the invocatory song called Thodaya Mangalam seeking the blessings of Lord Gnana Sabheswar.  Pushpanjali followed paying obeisance to God, Guru and the audience.

Gajavadana Beduve in Hamsadhwani/Adi – Ashrita acted out the story of Ganesha was created by Parvathi.  Parvathi left Ganesha in charge of guarding the house when she took a bath.  Shiva tried to enter the house but was stopped by Ganesha.  Shiva got angry and chopped off Ganesha’s head.  When Parvathi was horrified by the incident Shiva tried to make amends by bringing an elephant’s head and affix it to Ganesha and breathe back life into him.  Now the reader can imagine Ashrita’s dance to this episode.  The motherly touch of Parvathi, Shiva’s anger and Ganesha’s determination to obey his mother’s orders were all nicely depicted.

Jatiswaram in Vasantha/Roopakam – orchestra fully came together in this song and stayed together for the entire performance.  Flautist Sri Athul Kumar Rangarajan, who was the grandson of Flute Maestro Sri Ramani, was outstanding.  Ashrita demonstrated her mastery over the dance fundamentals.

Varnam in Sankarabharanam/Adi – vocal alapana at the beginning of the item was simply outstanding.  Hats off to the singer Sri G.R. Praveen!  Varnam is the center piece of a dance performance where the dancer’s ability is tested in areas such as endurance, versatility, expressions, rhythm etc.   This particular Varnam was in praise of Lord Krishna and lasted more than 25 minutes.  Ashrita enacted four separate episodes in the life of Krishna.  The first one was the episode where Kuchela, a childhood friend of Krishna, comes to meet him – beautifully done.  Ashrita practically took the entire audience to the situation.  This was followed by Gajendra Moksham, Draupadi Vastrapaharanam and finally Govardhana Giridhari episodes.  Mridangam playing by Sri Mayuram T. Viswanathan was outstanding.

The program continued with an Abhang in Navroj, a folksy tune, well delivered by the orchestra and Ashrita.  This was followed by Kalyana Rama in Hamsanadam/adi and Hanumantha Deva in Poorvi Kalyani/Adi. 

Thillana in Kaanada/Adi – The jam session between the flautist and the violinist (Karaikkal Venkat Subramanian), before the dance part, was exciting.  Ashrita showed a lot of grace in this song.  The symmetry she demonstrated was breathtaking.  She also showed very nice footwork, speed and sculpted poses. 

Congratulations to the teacher, Smt. Sangeetha Sridhar and Ashrita.      

Mar 2015 - Dr. Narmada Violin Concert

Dr. Narmada d/o M. S. Gopalakroshnan - violin
Dr. Ramakrishnan - mridangam

Overall a good concert with very good audience engagement. Lots of fast numbers sprinkled through the program, especially enjoyed Raghu Vamsa Sudha with some unique variations.  Lost some momentum towards the end of concert. 

Varnam in Saveri/adi - Captivating with very nice flow. Exercised great control. It was clear that she was thoroughly enjoying herself

Siddhi vinayakam in Shanmugapriya/Rupakam - very comfortable playing style. Good use of brigas as needed. Swaras were outstanding. Showed some sampling of what can be done speedwise. Good treat

Sarasa sama dana in Kapinarayani/Adi - Lilting tune to uplift one from a low feeling. A folksy tune beautifully rendered. Nice support from mridangam

Rama bhakthi samrajya in Suddha bangala/Adi - Another fast number which gave a lot of scope for mridangam. Very nice interplay between artists. Captivated the audience

Ardhanareeswara in Kumudakriya/Rupakam - Slow meditative ragam. Alapana did not score but the song touched the hearts. Nice to hear artist rendering in Hindustani style

Raghuvamsa Sudha in Kadanaludoohalam/Adi - Always an audience favorite. A toe tapping number. Especially dynamic in a violin concert. The glides, curves, variations and the gamakams were thoroughly enjoyable. 

Mari vere in Ananda bhairavi/Mishra chapu - Fantastic alapana. Nicely rendered

Kunthalavarali/Adi - Another fast number. When is the main piece?

Mana vyala kim in Nalina kanthi/Adi - Deft handling of the bow to show the corners of the ragam during the alapana. The involvement of the artist in every song is remarkable. High speed swaras were nicely done

Theerada vilaiyattu pliiai in ragamalika/Adi tisra nadai - Well rendered

Samaja vara gamana in Hindolam/Adi - Alap was followed by a sampling of thanam, but this was not RTP. Spirited delivery, traveling through higher and higher octaves was a good treat. A little miscommunication between the artists towards the end

Thani Avardhanam - Had a nice flow and sounded majestic

Aadum Chidambaramo in Bihag/Adi - Artist picked up the microphone and sang at the end. Good touch

Concert closed with a few more songs.  Govardhana giri dhari in Darbari Kanada/Adi, Thaamarai pootha thadagamadi in Hindusthani Deva Gandhari/Adi, a folk song and finally a song in Sindu Bhairavi