Kala Nadam, an annual dance extravaganza in its 17th edition, kicked off on a grand note at ADA Rangamandira, JC Road, on Friday. Over three days, the festival, organised by dance academy Nadam, presented a milieu of performances and artistes from across the country. Kathak, bharathanatyam and Odissi were among the forms the audience were treated to.
Bharathanatyam dancer Jyotsna Jagannathan, currently being mentored by Malavika Sarukkai, opened the festival with her 45-minute performance.Through a ragamalika, she embodied Ardhanarishwara, the androgynous form of Shiva and Shakti, symbolic of the male and female energies.
A skillfully executed varnam, in which a woman endears Krishna not to ignore her love for him, was next in store.
Another solo performance, kathak by Kumar Sharma, followed. He took short breaks between pieces to talk of the varied tempos and rhythms characteristic of the dance form. For one piece, he got the audience to set the tempo by clapping. He also presented a thumri, in which Radha implores Krishna not to seek her out, and another piece featuring a playful interaction between the two characters.
Kathaastra, a seamless blend of various art forms and 3D motion graphics, came next. The production used harikatha, a form of religious discourse, to introduce to the audience an excerpt from Kumaravyasas Mahabharata, considered one of the greatest epics of Kannada literature.
Multiple dance forms and even the martial arts could be seen in this group performance, starring kathak artistes and brothers Sharat and Bharat Prabhat as the harikatha exponent and Arjuna.
While most of the performance was live, the narrative allowed for a conversation between the poets consciousness and Krishna, which inspires the epic, was in the video format. In those two scenes, action shifted to the screen at the back, which otherwise provided changing backdrops.
The second day had Italian-origin artiste Ileana Citarisi, who has made the Indian state of Odisha her home for many years, presenting Odissi. The highlight of her performance was a classic exposition of Vishnus Dashavataras.
Next came Nadams own ensemble, starting with kathak pieces by its founding artistes Nandini Mehta and K Murali Mohan. The duo presented a Krishna vandana, followed by a medley of various techniques characteristic to the art form, set to the 12-beat ektaal cycle. A thumri by Nandini and tarana by four students of the academy followed. Chennai-based artiste Roja Kannan and her troupe enthralled the audience with their bharathanatyam with live music. The recital featured compositions of musical saints like Thyagaraja, Annamacharya and Swathi Thirunal.
The concluding day featured bharathanatyam artiste A Lakshman, kathak exponent Poorna Acharya and Daksha Mashruwala and troupe, presenting the production Crossing Oceans, which wove Greek, Japanese and Australian Aboriginal folklore with the Indian classical forms of odissi and chhau as well as contemporary dance.
Archana S, a housewife who was in the audience on all three days, said Roja Kannas troupe was spectacular. "The rendition of the classical composition Endaro mahanubhavulu was so good that it would have jolted anyone in the audience who was drifting off," she said, adding that she also enjoyed watching the Nadam ensemble and Kathaastra,which she describes as interesting.
![]( "Mesmerising: Artistes performing 'Kathaastra'.")
Kala Nadam, an annual dance extravaganza in its 17th edition, kicked off on a grand note at ADA Rangamandira, JC Road, on Friday. Over three days, the festival, organised by dance academy Nadam, presented a milieu of performances and artistes from across the country. Kathak, bharathanatyam and Odissi were among the forms the audience were treated to.
Bharathanatyam dancer Jyotsna Jagannathan, currently being mentored by Malavika Sarukkai, opened the festival with her 45-minute performance.Through a ragamalika, she embodied Ardhanarishwara, the androgynous form of Shiva and Shakti, symbolic of the male and female energies.
A skillfully executed varnam, in which a woman endears Krishna not to ignore her love for him, was next in store.
Another solo performance, kathak by Kumar Sharma, followed. He took short breaks between pieces to talk of the varied tempos and rhythms characteristic of the dance form. For one piece, he got the audience to set the tempo by clapping. He also presented a thumri, in which Radha implores Krishna not to seek her out, and another piece featuring a playful interaction between the two characters.
Kathaastra, a seamless blend of various art forms and 3D motion graphics, came next. The production used harikatha, a form of religious discourse, to introduce to the audience an excerpt from Kumaravyasa's Mahabharata, considered one of the greatest epics of Kannada literature.
Multiple dance forms and even the martial arts could be seen in this group performance, starring kathak artistes and brothers Sharat and Bharat Prabhat as the harikatha exponent and Arjuna.
While most of the performance was live, the narrative allowed for a conversation between the poet's consciousness and Krishna, which inspires the epic, was in the video format. In those two scenes, action shifted to the screen at the back, which otherwise provided changing backdrops.
The second day had Italian-origin artiste Ileana Citarisi, who has made the Indian state of Odisha her home for many years, presenting Odissi. The highlight of her performance was a classic exposition of Vishnu's Dashavataras.
Next came Nadam's own ensemble, starting with kathak pieces by its founding artistes Nandini Mehta and K Murali Mohan. The duo presented a Krishna vandana, followed by a medley of various techniques characteristic to the art form, set to the 12-beat ektaal cycle. A thumri by Nandini and tarana by four students of the academy followed. Chennai-based artiste Roja Kannan and her troupe enthralled the audience with their bharathanatyam with live music. The recital featured compositions of musical saints like Thyagaraja, Annamacharya and Swathi Thirunal.
The concluding day featured bharathanatyam artiste A Lakshman, kathak exponent Poorna Acharya and Daksha Mashruwala and troupe, presenting the production 'Crossing Oceans', which wove Greek, Japanese and Australian Aboriginal folklore with the Indian classical forms of odissi and chhau as well as contemporary dance.
Archana S, a housewife who was in the audience on all three days, said Roja Kanna's troupe was spectacular. "The rendition of the classical composition 'Endaro mahanubhavulu' was so good that it would have jolted anyone in the audience who was drifting off," she said, adding that she also enjoyed watching the Nadam ensemble and 'Kathaastra',which she describes as interesting.
Bharathanatyam dancer Jyotsna Jagannathan, currently being mentored by Malavika Sarukkai, opened the festival with her 45-minute performance.Through a ragamalika, she embodied Ardhanarishwara, the androgynous form of Shiva and Shakti, symbolic of the male and female energies.
A skillfully executed varnam, in which a woman endears Krishna not to ignore her love for him, was next in store.
Another solo performance, kathak by Kumar Sharma, followed. He took short breaks between pieces to talk of the varied tempos and rhythms characteristic of the dance form. For one piece, he got the audience to set the tempo by clapping. He also presented a thumri, in which Radha implores Krishna not to seek her out, and another piece featuring a playful interaction between the two characters.
Kathaastra, a seamless blend of various art forms and 3D motion graphics, came next. The production used harikatha, a form of religious discourse, to introduce to the audience an excerpt from Kumaravyasas Mahabharata, considered one of the greatest epics of Kannada literature.
Multiple dance forms and even the martial arts could be seen in this group performance, starring kathak artistes and brothers Sharat and Bharat Prabhat as the harikatha exponent and Arjuna.
While most of the performance was live, the narrative allowed for a conversation between the poets consciousness and Krishna, which inspires the epic, was in the video format. In those two scenes, action shifted to the screen at the back, which otherwise provided changing backdrops.
The second day had Italian-origin artiste Ileana Citarisi, who has made the Indian state of Odisha her home for many years, presenting Odissi. The highlight of her performance was a classic exposition of Vishnus Dashavataras.
Next came Nadams own ensemble, starting with kathak pieces by its founding artistes Nandini Mehta and K Murali Mohan. The duo presented a Krishna vandana, followed by a medley of various techniques characteristic to the art form, set to the 12-beat ektaal cycle. A thumri by Nandini and tarana by four students of the academy followed. Chennai-based artiste Roja Kannan and her troupe enthralled the audience with their bharathanatyam with live music. The recital featured compositions of musical saints like Thyagaraja, Annamacharya and Swathi Thirunal.
The concluding day featured bharathanatyam artiste A Lakshman, kathak exponent Poorna Acharya and Daksha Mashruwala and troupe, presenting the production Crossing Oceans, which wove Greek, Japanese and Australian Aboriginal folklore with the Indian classical forms of odissi and chhau as well as contemporary dance.
Archana S, a housewife who was in the audience on all three days, said Roja Kannas troupe was spectacular. "The rendition of the classical composition Endaro mahanubhavulu was so good that it would have jolted anyone in the audience who was drifting off," she said, adding that she also enjoyed watching the Nadam ensemble and Kathaastra,which she describes as interesting.
Kala Nadam, an annual dance extravaganza in its 17th edition, kicked off on a grand note at ADA Rangamandira, JC Road, on Friday. Over three days, the festival, organised by dance academy Nadam, presented a milieu of performances and artistes from across the country. Kathak, bharathanatyam and Odissi were among the forms the audience were treated to.Bharathanatyam dancer Jyotsna Jagannathan, currently being mentored by Malavika Sarukkai, opened the festival with her 45-minute performance.Through a ragamalika, she embodied Ardhanarishwara, the androgynous form of Shiva and Shakti, symbolic of the male and female energies.
A skillfully executed varnam, in which a woman endears Krishna not to ignore her love for him, was next in store.
Another solo performance, kathak by Kumar Sharma, followed. He took short breaks between pieces to talk of the varied tempos and rhythms characteristic of the dance form. For one piece, he got the audience to set the tempo by clapping. He also presented a thumri, in which Radha implores Krishna not to seek her out, and another piece featuring a playful interaction between the two characters.
Kathaastra, a seamless blend of various art forms and 3D motion graphics, came next. The production used harikatha, a form of religious discourse, to introduce to the audience an excerpt from Kumaravyasa's Mahabharata, considered one of the greatest epics of Kannada literature.
Multiple dance forms and even the martial arts could be seen in this group performance, starring kathak artistes and brothers Sharat and Bharat Prabhat as the harikatha exponent and Arjuna.
While most of the performance was live, the narrative allowed for a conversation between the poet's consciousness and Krishna, which inspires the epic, was in the video format. In those two scenes, action shifted to the screen at the back, which otherwise provided changing backdrops.
The second day had Italian-origin artiste Ileana Citarisi, who has made the Indian state of Odisha her home for many years, presenting Odissi. The highlight of her performance was a classic exposition of Vishnu's Dashavataras.
Next came Nadam's own ensemble, starting with kathak pieces by its founding artistes Nandini Mehta and K Murali Mohan. The duo presented a Krishna vandana, followed by a medley of various techniques characteristic to the art form, set to the 12-beat ektaal cycle. A thumri by Nandini and tarana by four students of the academy followed. Chennai-based artiste Roja Kannan and her troupe enthralled the audience with their bharathanatyam with live music. The recital featured compositions of musical saints like Thyagaraja, Annamacharya and Swathi Thirunal.
The concluding day featured bharathanatyam artiste A Lakshman, kathak exponent Poorna Acharya and Daksha Mashruwala and troupe, presenting the production 'Crossing Oceans', which wove Greek, Japanese and Australian Aboriginal folklore with the Indian classical forms of odissi and chhau as well as contemporary dance.
Archana S, a housewife who was in the audience on all three days, said Roja Kanna's troupe was spectacular. "The rendition of the classical composition 'Endaro mahanubhavulu' was so good that it would have jolted anyone in the audience who was drifting off," she said, adding that she also enjoyed watching the Nadam ensemble and 'Kathaastra',which she describes as interesting.