Five dance forms on one stage

The Amaravati Sankranti Dance Festival 2017 at Kalakshetra, Vijaywada to mark the festive sankranti season featured a performance organised by Natya Swara of five classical dance forms namely Odissi, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak and Mohiniattam. The artistes were Debashree Patnaik, Aditi Rao, Sindhuja, Mitha Vinay and Mythili Anoop respectively.

Odissi possesses the flowing grace of the sculptures of the konarak temple, Bharatanatyam- the staccato vigour of the most ancient dance form of South India, Kuchipudi -the lyrical elegance of the style which emenated from the Kuchipudi Village of Andhra Pradesh, Kathak reflects the rich splendour of the courts of north india and Mohiniattam-the swaying beauty mirrored by coconut palms in the fields of Kerala.

The artistes performed together in a group and they gave solo performances as well so that the audience could appreciate the pristine purity of each form while when juxtaposed they saw the similarities and contrasts too. The Shlokam Vandanatrayee in hindustani music by Ravi Shankar extolling the guru as equivalent to the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara started of the event magnificiently.

Mythili Anoop gave a Mohiniattam item in Ahir Bhairav, Pibare Rama Rasam, the composition of Sadashiva Brahmendra. Aditi Rao presented Pralaya Payodhi Jale of Jayadeva in Ragamalika describing the Dasavataras. Odissi by Debashree was in Raag Khamaj, Nagendra Haraya on Lord Shiva by Adi Sankaracharya. The Kuchipudi item was verses selected from the Thiruppavai of Andal in Ragamalika.

The Kathak presentation by Mitha Vinay was the soulful Tulsidas bhajan Sri Ramachandra Kripalu in Yaman Kalyan. the Thillana in desh sung by Bombay Jayshree performed by all the dancers was a treat to the eyes as they formed groups depicting Subramania Swamy, the various musical instruments being played and other striking tableaux. The chief guest who graced the occassion was the hon'ble speaker of Andhra Pradesh, Kodela Siva Prasad Rao.