Ananya The Unparalled - From October 19 to October 23, 2010 Home Schedule Seminar Other Festivals Press Feedback Contact
Sharmila Biswas - Kolkata - Odissi - October 19 Geeta Chandran - Delhi - Bharatnatyam - October 20 Sadanam Balakrishnan - Kerala - Kathakali - October 21 Justin McCarthy - Delhi - Amalgam of Dance Forms - October 22Shama Bhate - Pune - Kathak - October 23  
Originating in Tamil Nadu, Bharatanatyam is one of the oldest and most popular dance forms of India. It was nurtured in the temples and courts of southern India and, subsequently, codified and documented as a performing art in the 19th century by four brothers known as the Tanjore Quartet. Their musical compositions form the bulk of Bharatanatyam repertoire even today. Bhava (expression), Raga (music), Tala (rhythm) and Natya (classical Indian musical theatre) together comprise the word and the form that is Bharatanatyam. The dance was traditionally handed down as a living tradition through the devadasi system under which women were dedicated to the temple deity. They performed the dasiattam – dance of the handmaid of god – as part of elaborate temple ceremonies. They and male gurus, the nattuvanars, were the sole repository of the dance which fell into disrepute following lack of royal patronage and changing social mores. Interest in India’s cultural heritage revived in the early 20th century and prompted the educated elite to rediscover the beauty of Bharatanatyam. In the 1930s, pioneers, such as E Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi Arundale, brought the dance out of the temple precincts on to the proscenium stage even as it continued to retain its essentially devotional character.

Geeta Chandran (Delhi) - Bharatnatyam - 20 October 2010 (Wednesday)

Geeta Chandran has been trained by eminent Bharatanatyam gurus, including Smt Swarna Saraswathy and Guru KN Dakshinamurthi Pillai. She has ably synthesized her eclectic training to present unique dance presentations in which she skilfully weaves abstract notions of joy, beauty, values, aspiration, myth and spirituality. Celebrated for her composite understanding of Bharatanatyam, Geeta is also an accomplished Carnatic vocalist. She is known for her work in television, film and theatre as also in dance education, activism and journalism. She is the founder-president of Natya Vriksha where she teaches and promotes Bharatanatyam. She is also the artistic director of the Natya Vriksha Dance Company, which has travelled all over the world with its superb dance presentations. Geeta has received many prestigious awards and fellowships, including the Padma Shri.

Presentation

In Revision, her presentation for the evening, Geeta Chandran and her Natya Vriksha Dance Company present a selection of classical numbers from the Bharatanatyam repertoire. It is suffused with the dancer’s focus on choreographic processes of intent, content and context. The intent is to celebrate the pristine classicism of Bharatanatyam. Through her Thanjavur bani, Geeta uses the adavu as the basis of her revision. This basic unit of Bharatanatyam is cast and recast in prismatic formations. The content remains the classical. The traditional Mallari, Alarippu, Padam and Tillana form the basis of Geeta’s revision. The context is what’s been altered. Since a solo dance is transformed into a group experience, the inter-body connections create new contexts for movement. There is also the context of the space in which the pieces are being performed. The grandeur of the dance has been re-contextualized for the Purana Qila monument.