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.
