A JOYFUL PRESENTATION
OF ENERGY, CHEER AND WARMTH
Preethi Tatambothla at the Kalasagaram Annual Youth Festival Of Dance 15th March 2015 Keyes High School
Kuchipudi,
in traditional classical Indian dance, unites music, dance and theatre. It is a
dance form that tells stories, Abhinaya, telling stories that reach out to the
audience. It is a dance discipline that requires dancers to use their whole
‘being’ to tell a story, using the body, hand gestures, legs and rhythmic
footwork, facial expressions and the eyes to communicate a story.
In
this contemporary age of self obsession and crass consumerism in which ignorance
and a lack of cultural understanding prevails; where beauty, love, creativity,
awareness, and cultural consciousness live a very fragile coexistence, it was a
pleasure to see a young dancer perform and raise hope for the future.
The
dancer was Preethi Tatambhotla. A student/disciple of the redoubtable Dr.
Shobha Naidu, herself a most renowned exponent of Kuchipudi, choreographer and
educationist.
In
the performance that I witnessed, Preethi, danced with joy and grace, and from
her first high stepping entry to the stage in a garnet red blouse and amber/orange
sari, her stage presence commanded attention, and she lived her dance.
The
distinguishing feature about the whole evenings’ performance was the
imaginative and interesting choreography. The choreographer for all the pieces
in the evening’s performance was Dr Shobha Naidu. The selection of music,
poetry and choreography was outstanding, innovative and empathetically
choreographed. In the notes I had made during the performance, I had noted that
she had ‘dismissed sameness’ and that she had made the dances look ‘traditional
and contemporary’ at the same time.
The
ensemble of musicians that accompanied Preethi were a pleasure to listen to,
for a music lover such as I am, the music at a dance recital is heard with as
much absorption as the dance performance, and this ensemble of musicians,
veterans that they are, give off their best each time they perform, and they
are truly a pleasure to listen to, especially in the composition ‘Vachenu alamelumanga’,
by Annamacharya Keerthana, in which the dancer depicts the navarasas, and the
music changes for each of the navarasa’s - Sringara, Hasya, Karuna, Roudra,
Veera, Bhayanaka, Bheebatsa, Adbhutha, Shantha.
The
musicians were singer Swetha Prasad, Nattuvanar (wielder of cymbals) N. Ch.
Raghunandan, Mridangist Sridharacharya and Violinist Kolanka Sai Kumar.
And
the dancer lived up to the superb music, the great musicians, the narrative
drama and the choreography. The dances were executed with empathy. Preethi’s footwork
was agile and vigorous where it needed to be, and delicate at times when needed.
Her body language was energetic and languid in turns, and her hand movements
and facial expressions were animated and yet subtle and nuanced, she communicated
the narrative in each piece, mouthing the words so unique to Kuchipudi, in
dance that was theatrical, and in a manner that was compelling and
absorbing.
Her first entry to the stage on the evening at the wonderful outdoor
venue at Keyes High School was to ‘Kanjadalaya dakshi’, composed by Muthuswamy Dikshitar
to Ragam Kamalamanohari to Tallam – Adi.
The second item ‘Vachenu alamelumanga’ by Annamacharya Keerthana in
Ragam: Hindolam to Taalam, Adadi was the main piece of the evening, and this
performance was a tour de force for a Kuchipudi dancer to depict nine different
rasa’s seamlessly.
The
third item on the programme was a Javali – ‘Apaduruku Lonaithine’ by Composer –
Pattabhiramayya in Raagam: Khammas and Taalam: Adi
This Javali - Javali are quick, often erotic, love compositions with catchy
tunes – is about a fickle young woman who doesn’t know how to deal with her
attraction to men, and this Javali,
needed the dancer to use her acting skills in combination with creative
choreography to depict the dilemma of
the confused and flirtatious girl.
The
fourth and last composition was Mohana Kalyani Thillana to Ragam: Mohana
Kalyani
Talam: Adi, composed by, the brilliant
violinist, Lalgudi Jayaraman. This was followed by mangalam - Ramachandraya Janaka
Preethi’s
perfromance was exceedingly good by any standards, but no little credit must go
to the choreographer, Shobha Naidu, who lifted the dance performance out of the
realms of the ordinary, and the truly wonderful ensemble of musicians.
And getting back to the idea of culture,
tradition and the classical arts, it is a good sign that young dancers like
Preethi Tatambhotla are continuing traditions and being standard bearers for
Kuchipudi, and classical dance performance in this age of instant gratification
and pop culture. It was truly a pleasurable evening. And Preethi made it so.
First appeared in Kalaparva http://features.kalaparva.com/
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