Indian Classical Dance Bharatanatyam – Past and Present in Group and Solo works by the Premier Dance Institution Kalakshetra
On Sunday October 9 at 5 PM, Sruti, The India Music and Dance Society will present the legendary Leela Samson and the Kalakshetra Repertory Company in a classical dance performance showcasing Bharatanatyam: Past & Present in group and solo works.
The Kalakshetra repertory company comprises of select staff, students and alumni of Kalakshetra. Since the early years of the institution in the forties, the company has performed to wide acclaim around the world and continues to uphold the highest standards of performance. Each member of the Kalakshetra repertory company is an accomplished and creative solo performer, a result of the rigorous theoretical and practical arts training they receive at Kalakshetra. These artists combine as the Kalakshetra Repertory Company to present riveting programs of Indian classical dance and music. Their repertoire includes mythology based dance-dramas, classical and contemporary Bharatanatyam compositions, as well as programs of the varied folk dances of India.
The group was founded by Rukmini Devi whose dance dramas form the bulk of the Kalakshetra repertoire. Kalakshetra productions have come to be recognized worldwide for their impeccable technique and aesthetic. Senior dancers and musicians of the institute continued to add to the already vast repertoire. The most recent addition to the dance-dramas of the company is ‘Dasaru Kanda Krishna’ and ‘Spanda’ choreographed by Leela Samson, the current director of Kalakshetra that has been successfully performed several times to an encouraging response. Leela Samson is among India’s most dynamic and technically brilliant dancers, an outstanding representative of Kalakshetra.
Today, the Kalakshetra repertory company is committed to presenting artistic excellence in dance and music, both inside the campus in Chennai, India, and in its performance engagements around the world. The dancers who will be accompanying Ms. Leela Samson on the US tour are established solo performers. They have all completed their post graduate diplomas from Kalakshetra Foundation and are currently employed as artists in the Kalakshetra Repertory. All of them are artistes who have performed in prominent festivals in India & abroad.
The highlight of the presentation on the past and present works in group and solo recitals is the feature “Spanda”. ‘Spanda’, ‘a vibration’ is symbolic of the enduring and perpetual energy that is the life force of the universe. It incorporates the philosophical concept of “Prithvi” as the centre and source of energy in the universe and equates it with the “nabham”, the womb as the origin of energy in the human body. The rediscovery of the basic movements of Bharatanatyam and the need for a reinterpretation of its traditional vocabulary challenges Spanda. Spanda seeks to establish a more relevant dialogue between dance, music and stagecraft.
‘Spanda-Matrika’ reduces movement to its essence. It is a journey inwards seeking the essential ‘centre’, the origin of movement and its source of strength through the “adavus” (comprises position, posture, movement and hand gestures) of the Bharatanatyam style. On one level, it attempts to internalize the consciousness of the dancer towards the particular movement rather than on the composition of the whole. On the other, no dancer is whole in the composition without every other. Much like life, the dancer is made conscious of the energy she brings to the group and how that enhances the whole. Spanda Matrika is based on the various rhythm cycles in Carnatic music the Panchajatis: chatushram, tishram, mishram, khandam and sankeernam.
‘Aakash’ attempts an exploration of the concept of space. Using slokas (verses) from the Vedas, the dancer discovers it, explores it, celebrates it – through movement. Aakash is the universe. Its garbha is Prithvi, the earth. All life emanates from this center, explores outwards, interacting constantly with space – which surrounds it, nurtures it, gives it form and being. The life-force of the dancer is the nabha – from this center, all movement emanates.
‘Charishnu’ is indicative of the intent or desire to move. It is an expression of the joy of ‘journeying’. Every individual, animal, or nation – journeys in a manner typical of his own nature. We move in different ways, in different directions, at a differing pace. What is exciting is the dynamics of this movement happening differently, at the same time. It is the physics of the constellations. It is the happening of creation. Making use of the different rhythm cycles in Carnatic music, the abstract movement in Charishnu simply enjoys what it is doing.
The choreography for ‘Spanda’ is by Ms. Leela Samson.
Past and Present in Group and Solo works by Kalakshetra
Sunday, October 9th, 2011 at 5 PM
Pearson Hall Theatre, Lang Performing Arts Center of Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore
Tickets: Members: $65, $40, $30. Non-Members: $75, $50, $35, Students/Seniors: $25 (General Admission Section), Children 3 and under are admitted free of charge.
Tickets available online at http://sruti.tix.com/ or at the box office on day of event.
*** Photographs courtesy: Kalakshetra
