PriyaLasya - Dance Reports & Papers
KumaraSambhavam
- A Dance Drama in Bharatanatyam Style
- A Rare Audio Visual Treat-Laasyam and Tandavam
August 12, 2015 - A Report from Vinatha Kumar
*File Picture- Source From Author - With Due Credits - In the concluding paragraph
On August 8, 2015, Natyabhoomi School of Dance ( Potomac, Md ) presented Kalidasa's famous classic "Kumarasambhavam" in a dance drama format at Jewish Community Ctr , Rockville, Md .
In this noble fundraising effort, Geeta Study Group of Gayitri Parivar, SVVFUIP Society, TV ASIA USA, Yoga Group Of Gaithersburg , assisted Natyabhoomi in organizing and staging the show . This immortal Love Poem of Shiva and Parvati ( the birth of young God, Kumar aka Karthikeya) was brilliantly choreographed by Srikanth N. Natarajan , (Director of Nrityalaya) , and it was also beautifully interpreted and wonderfully presented by Srikanth with a dance troupe that included Natyabhoomi dancers and a guest artist from Natya Nilayam .
The first scene - "Sloka" - Subramanyam Subramanyam Shanmukanatha Subramanyam
The very first opening scene of Kumarasambhavam was captivating when four young dancers performed a dance item on the popular sloka "Subramanyam Subramanyam Shanmukanatha Subramanyam" The youngsters clad in an elegant Kasavu Style garment, waving ornate vels (Colorful dandia sticks with peacock feathers ) in their hands, executed simple jathis with a great deal of enthusiasm in a sublime mood of devotion . This set the stage for what was to follow the entire evening - an evening of pure dance and divine melodies.
"Pushpanjali" an offering to Lord Karthikeya
Next followed "Pushpanjali" an offering to Lord Karthikeya ( The presiding Deity of this play as suggested by the backdrop of "Aum" in Tamizh with a Vel) where nine junior artists of Natyabhoomi ( of varying age groups ) performed jathis and adavus in unison and joyous abandon. It was a neat and crisp presentation where the dancers performed delightfully with great energy.
Parvati Enters..
In the next scene , the heroine of this Romantic story , Shreya Naville as Parvati made a dramatic entry , hiding behind a red silk screen . When Shreya emerged on stage clad in a golden colored silk costume with a bright emerald green border and blouse and wearing a gold and red colored dhavani, She looked breathtakingly beautiful . With her flowing curly tresses, Shreya ( in this role as Parvati) looked every inch "Ramyakapardini Shaila-Sute"( Who has Beautiful Locks of Hair and Who is the Daughter of the Mountain.) Shreya dominated this act with her lively rendition of "Kanchadalyakshi Kamakshi" - the lotus eyed Goddess who has infinite Love for her lord Kameshwera ( Shiva) . Shreya's every posture was graceful and her eye expressions enchanting like a full bloomed Lotus . Shreya danced her heart out in this solo item and executed all the jathis, adavus etc in an immaculate fashion , receiving a thunderous applause from an appreciative audience . In the subsequent scene. six young dancers clad in Skirt Blouse outfit in matching colors of Orange and Pink, described the beauty of the Kailasa Mountains with basic steps and simple adavus to delightful instrumental music. They were joined by four more experienced Natyabhoomi dancers who went on to describe the grandeur and majesty of the Kailasa, the abode of the Cosmic couple, Shiva and Parvati.
Lord Shiva
Srikanth now enters the stage with a saintly demeanor as Lord Shiva and his eyes luminous and shining brightly and his entire Being exuding radiant Aura . Srikanth's Ananda thandavam, in this item, demonstrated his great agility as a swift footed dancer as well as how he can hold one legged Nataraja postures for great lengths of time with ease . A great choreographer can also be a great performing artist - Srikanth is a shining example of this . Srikanth's bhavabhinaya was superb, his eye expressions eloquent and his finishes classy. Srikanth can don any role be it Shiva, Krishna and Devi - he not only looks the part but gets transformed into the character he is portraying. Srikanth held the audience spellbound with his Nritta and Natyam.
The Asura
Now. it was time for another Natyabhoomi member to showcase his prowess - Uday Navile as Tarakasura, looking every inch an Asura with his Sharp Horns and roaring with evil sounding laughter and walking with long strides on the stage back and forth - enough to send a shiver through the spine in some young kids in the audience The Kathakali style make up done by Srikanth enhanced Uday's devilish appearance and in the few minutes that he was on stage , he created Terror - very authentic.
Manmatha..
In the subsequent scenes that followed , the Natyabhoomi dancers with the help of a guest artist ( Sruti Uppuluri from Natya Nilayam) , narrated the story of Manmatha and how he helped to distract Lord Shiva from his meditation with his Arrows of Love . Lord Shiva, in rage , burns Manmatha to ashes . In the dramatic scene that follows, Shreya displays another rasa to perfection that of Sadness and Remorse while doing penance as she feels that it was her longing for Lord Shiva that signalled Manmatha's untimely demise . Shreya's ability to portray contrasting emotions of Sringara in an earlier scene followed by Dukha in this scene, is exemplary . In this scene , Srikanth, who comes disguised, impresses with his questioning Parvati regarding how genuine Her Love for Shiva was . Srikanth's anga abhinayam and hasta mudras, was memorable. The four dancers in the background, lamenting the loss of Manmatha, enhance the efficacy of this act . Even a simple Vasanta jatiswaram can look impressive if choreographed well and executed effortlessly .
Laasya Tandavam
In the final scene , Srikanth and Shreya did a Jugalbandhi of Laasya Tandavam and I could not help marvel at how Shreya was able to dance with confidence with a seasoned dancer like Srikanth . Shreya was in total sync and it was delightful to witness this dance- It looked like as if the Cosmic couple were dancing on stage . full of Laya and Thala . What was amazing is Srikanth's attention to detail and after the exchange of Garlands, (Gandarva Vivaham, Kalidasa style) , Paravati stood on the left side of Shiva ( vama bhage). In this concluding scene when the entire cast appeared on stage with Srikant and Shreya , it was a Divine Sight to behold and the audience clapped non stop to show their appreciation .
The creative section
The evening certainly belonged to Srikanth for his excellent choreography , beautiful showmanship as a performing artist and most importantly as a dedicated teacher Credit goes to The Mukund Sisters as well for planning and staging this production for a fundraising cause in spite of an extraordinarily busy season of almost Five Rangapraveshams and other dance related activities . Mukund sisters are now famous for staging two Kalidasa plays with great success i!! Meghadootam and Kumarasambhavam and in the coming years , we will see many more . On another note , the backdrops were vivid and interesting without being overwhelming. The choice of sanskrit verses interspersed with well known krits and swarajathise added a glow to the dance drama. On the whole , a great Audio visual treat . Swamini of Arsha Vignana Gurukulam of Eugene , Or , who presided over the function, was pleased with this presentation and congratulated the Dancers . Photos by Srikant Sogol
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