Shivanjali Dance Program

Sep 23, 2007

During the time my daughter, Deepa, was growing up and learning Bharatha Natyam a few dance teachers visited from India and gave workshops. Some of them were truly inspiring that left a lasting impression on our kids. But unfortunately, I have also heard some harsh criticisms from some others such as “This level of dance is good enough for these kids growing up in America”, “That’s all you can expect from them”, “You cannot expect the same as the kids from India” etc. Some of these comments have reached the ears of these kids and they may have put up a glass ceiling to their performance levels. It is also quite possible that some of our very capable kids may have been discouraged and quit. But, NOT ANY MORE! Speaking for the NRI parents, I can say with our heads held high that our kids have proven the critics wrong! Shivanjali program is another example of the talent of our kids.

Our kids are termed as ABCD’s which has been redefined as American Born Cultured Desis. The “C” can also be for Confident. Let there be no confusion! Folks, let me make a strong statement here. These NRI kids growing up in America are in fact in a better position than their cousins growing up in India to maintain and spread the art. The reasons are several – dedicated teachers, eager students, co-operating parents, availability of resources and many more.

But one reason that stands out among the NRI kids growing up in America who are learning various Indian art forms – it is their Guru Bhakthi. The teacher-student relationship here is of mythological proportions, no doubts. I am speaking from the personal experiences Jayanthi and I are having as parents in bringing up two children in the US and having given them opportunities to learn Indian art forms. I am sure many parents out there will agree.

Sure, there are instances of arranging performances to pad resumes or to climb the social ladder. But, so what! This is America! We need to put our best foot forward. Please don’t tell me that this does not happen in India. Where else could those horrible dancers on SUN-TV come from! Any one of our kids, on their worst day, can take them on!

We are proud of our kids but we should also recognize the limitation as the training has been focused on dance and mridangam. While we are reaching a good level of maturity in these fields, we have a long way to go to produce a better class of musicians. I am anxious to see several groups of musicians and dancers form that are made up of only NRI kids. It is up to all of us to take them to even greater heights. Guru Bhakthi and the blessings they receive from their gurus will surely take them places, metaphorically and physically! Parents – let me close my long preamble with this. Surely, there is a Rukmini Devi Arundale or a Palghat Mani Iyer among our kids. Find them!

I will be right back after a short break…
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Carnatic Music Vocal Concert
by

Smt. Gayathri Venkataraghavan
Vocal
Kum. Akkarai Subbalakshmi
Violin
Sri. Manoj Siva
Mridangam

On Sunday, September 30, 2007, at 4:00 PM

OK, I am back…

The singer is a DR. KVN student and I understand is very good. I have listened to the violinist and she is really good. Please come and support the concert.

Let us get back to the program. The Guru Bhakthi I talked about earlier was evident among the students of Smt. Sangeetha Sridhar in the dance program today. Sangeetha presented a fabulous thematic dance performance called Shivanjali with her senior students – ABCDs. Organizers should be commended for an on-time start.

I have witnessed a few programs of Sangeetha and clearly this performance was the best I have seen. Sangeetha was the main dancer with support provided by her senior students. Her sense of rhythm was perfect. Her chosen style of dance provides a lot of circular or symmetric motions and fluid body movements. She gracefully executed them and there were also several elements of surprise in the presentation. The group presentation with the students had some spectacular choreography and striking costumes. It is very clear a lot of thought had gone into this. I particularly enjoyed the churning of the ocean scene with one dancer posing as Mandara Mountain and the others pulling the serpent tied around the mountain. The timing of the pulling and the churning was well executed. Using several dancers to come together as the multi-headed Shiva with multiple hands was very innovative. Also, this is one of the few dance programs I have seen with a humorous act as well. Good job!

The guru bhakthi discussed before was demonstrated by Sangeetha herself towards her guru Padmabhushan Padma Subramanyam, a legend among the living. This program was a fundraiser for the Bharatha Muni Temple being built in Chennai. It will be a unique temple dedicated to dance and a research center promoting our culture. Please approach Sangeetha for any information or if you can contribute in any way.

The music accompaniment was excellent. Singer was Sri Sudev Warrier, a disciple of Sri Balamurali Krishna. I have heard him sing a couple of years ago but he has improved by leaps and bounds. The only qualm I have with the flautist, Sri Krishna Prasad, was his Kambodhi alapana was too short! I guess it is a dance concert not a music concert! What an energy displayed by the Mridangam player, Sri Sudhaman! I think I missed a few abhinayas while watching his hands play, head rock and hair fly! He was playing the instrument so hard I had to ask him during the intermission if he had a couple of spare ones in the back! Fortunately, he made it through the concert with the same mridangam! But God only knows why he needs two dozen throat lozenges to take him through the concert! Thanks to Ranga, the supplier.

Nattuvangam debut done by Vijayalakshmi showed promise. Sangeetha demonstrated her experience when she did the Nattuvangam. I noticed the style of Nattuvangam was different from what I have heard before. The lyrics were presented in the Nattuvangam style and then the singer took it over and sang the same lyrics in Ragam. I guess someone will tell me the technical term for this!

Though the program had a total of 13 songs it went through very quickly. Being a group presentation the costume changes were very efficient. It was a very traditional program with invocatory Thodaya Mangalam, Mallari, Shiva Sthuthi, Someshwaram Bhajema, Adi Kondar, Rupamu Joochi Varnam, Thalaye Nee Vanangai, Shambu Natanam, Bho Shambo, Aalandan, Chandra Chooda, Thillana and Mangalam. Bho Shambho song was sung in Darbari Kanada, different from M. Santhanam’s Revathi, it was very refreshing.

“Adi Kondar” song in Mayamalava Goula ragam performed by the mother-daughter team of Sangeetha and Shilpa was choreographed and presented well. Roopamu Joochi Varnam was long and was performed as a solo by Sangeetha was truly a treat to watch and listen. The song was in Thodi and was performed beautifully by the musicians. The song provided a lot of scope for sancharis, bhavam, nrithyam and footwork. Varnam, as many of you know, is the toughest piece in any dance performance testing the endurance of the dancer. A! The Thillana in ragam Kannada (not Kaanada) was spectacular in choreography. The speed, poses, formations and footwork were all brilliant and the song was very peppy.

I would be remiss if I did not provide some feedback on the program in general. For some of the students who have finished their Arangetram, the audience expectations have naturally increased. Arangetram is only a milestone in their long journey towards perfection. They need to pay more attention to the details like walking in and out of stage, show grace while standing to name a few. Stage management could have been better in terms of spacing the dancers especially when all the dancers were on stage at one time. More dress rehearsals will help. The dancers also need to be meticulous in their alankarams without needing to adjust them on stage.

Some of the senior students like Geetha Srinivasan and Sathvika Ramaji whom we have watched over the years have grown. Keep it up! I can’t wait to witness your Arangetrams! The MC for the program was Karunya Krishnan and her Tamil pronunciation was excellent and descriptions of dances were precise.
See you all at the next concert, Sep 30 at 4:00PM!

B. Seetharaman
Sep 26, 2007