Friday, May 03, 2024 | Last Update : 08:52 AM IST

Leela Venkataraman

Kumudini Lakhia, dancer who gave the body of Kathak a new mind

“Upaj” saw three fine dancers performing to Atul’s music in Jaijaiwanti, with added magic created through Gyandev Singh’s lighting.

04 Mar 2020 3:17 AM

Retaining the authentic flavours of Indian dance away from home

How can Bharatanatyam live and breathe in a place where the cultural ecology is so different?

19 Feb 2020 2:21 AM

Apart from discussions, dancers were not afraid of trying to tether dance compositions, even in group forms, to metaphysical themes defying definition.

An insight into the minds of dancers, particularly the young ones

Purva Dhanashree’s discipline Vilasini Natyam (the dance of the Andhra Devadasi) regards the sensual and the spiritual as two sides of the same coin.

21 Jan 2020 3:29 AM

Vanashree’s concept of Trayambakam (the Threefold God) extols aspects of Shiva.

Myths told through dance that resonate with today’s audiences

Myth with its emotions and moods, at the existentialist level, will remain relevant.

23 Dec 2019 4:58 AM

The open air performance space at Sundar Nursery, with an extremely murky Delhi sky, had the half-dozen-odd people who had arrived early wondering if Aga Khan Trust for Culture and Unesco, jointly planning this evening, had made a wise choice of venue and if people would venture out on such an evening.

Defying New Delhi’s pollution, Kutiyattam in open air holds audience spellbound

A grieving penitent Sugreev who blames “an enemy’s arrow”’ is in this theatre version, not aware that the fatal wound has come from Ram’s arrow.

03 Dec 2019 1:58 AM

The Javali in Kamas was what the dancer had imbibed from Kalanidhi Narayanan.

Epitomising the style & the totality of the teacher’s vision of a form

Ragini credited the moulding of her dance sensibilities with the teachings of her mentors, and the oversight of her mother.

21 Nov 2019 2:17 AM

Recapturing in Sanskrit, Pali and Hindi the old vibes of India’s total theatre

The familiar theme — and the scene of Sakuntala, trying to convince Dushyanta in a state of amnesia, that she is his wedded wife, was very moving.

06 Nov 2019 1:26 AM

Upendra Singh as Dashrath and Swapan Mazumdar as Ravan were effective. But the actor who played Vishwamitra, was not assertive enough.

The Ramayana Ballet: That which repetition cannot age

Many more Ramlila productions have now commenced all over the capital.

24 Oct 2019 1:39 AM

What did Draupadi see when she looked into the magic mirror?

The plot starts with Hidimbi, married to Bhima, procuring a magic mirror which reflected what the heart of the one looking into it desired.

08 Oct 2019 1:22 AM

Contemplating female energy, and saluting her with dance

Vani Vak-Devi Saraswati as portrayed by Bengaluru’s Praveen Kumar was a highlight.

12 Sep 2019 1:24 AM

A dancer on his own creative journey, away from established dance norms, Astad Deboo understandably ploughs a lone furrow.

Understanding dancer Astad Deboo: The lonely crusader, still an enigma

Dancing inside the auditorium has been as common as dancing in a museum amidst artifacts, on the street, on a catwalk or on the Wall of China.

15 Aug 2019 1:50 AM

Welcoming the fountainhead, Bharatmuni, on Gurupurnima

Bharata’s Natya Shastra sowed the seeds of knowledge in dramaturgy and the Rasa theory of aesthetics.

01 Aug 2019 1:19 AM

Young dance talents mesmerise, they need right platform to thrive

Lalgudi Jayaraman’s thillana in mand ushered in the concluding moments of the well-rounded performance.

18 Jul 2019 12:51 AM

Artistes pay homage to a phenomenon called Balasaraswati: The great dancer

The singing, the Nattuvanar’s Jati recitation with the dancer’s rendition through movement, all in simultaneity, have to find perfect synchronisation.

12 Jun 2019 1:08 AM

Manodharma: Evocative abhinaya of the inner dancer… a world beyond teaching

Abhinaya comprising gestures and facial expressions was never intended to be a structured part of the dance.

04 Jun 2019 12:51 AM

Performers enthral at Natya Vriksha’s International Dance Day celebration

The curtain-raiser at 9 am had over a hundred enthusiastic dancers participating in the Body and Movement workshop conducted by Santosh Nair.

14 May 2019 1:07 AM

When Tamil became the voice of the heart in the Spring Festival of Music & Dance at IIC

The Tillana brought in the spirit of pure joy, with the Mangalam based on Saint Thirunavukkarasar, set in Ragam Surutti.

02 May 2019 1:27 AM

Music and dance intertwine at Nehru Park as classical arts invite onlookers

Inspired expressions from Indian performing arts and visual arts have kept alive and reinvented the heroines from our great epics.

15 Apr 2019 12:32 AM

Bhagat Singh to Buddha: Dance, theatre mix in out-of-the-box presentations

Bhagat Singh senses a hidden melancholia beneath this joi de vivre, with a deep involvement in love stories ending in tragedy.

01 Apr 2019 11:47 PM

Amrita Lahiri: The best dancer of all. (Photo: Vinay Jain)

Paying homage to Shiva, king of dancers, with performances in different traditions

The festival of Maha Shivaratri becomes an especially auspicious occasion for many dancers to pay homage to the Lord of Dance.

12 Mar 2019 1:53 AM

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Sanjeev Ahluwalia