Apart from music and dance performances, insightful conferences keep rasikas busy during the Season. Krishna Gana Sabha’s Natya Kala Conference is an event much looked forward to.
Recipients of the coveted Nritya Choodamani host the conference, and this year the torch is held by Dr. Srinidhi Chidambaram, who successfully balances two careers — medicine and dance.
Titled Sthiti-Gathi, the conference, a five-day event (December 26-30), focuses on different aspects of Bharatanatyam. Srinidhi has chosen her speakers, comprising artists and scholars, with care.
Talking about her role as a convenor, she says, “I think of this opportunity as enriching and a huge learning experience. It also comes at the right time; I have been through the arc of the typical journey of the dancer — a student, performer, choreographer… therefore there is a certain maturity and vision that I have with regard to the conference. This opportunity has also taught me to interact with artists, to work as a team, to collaborate with other experts in the world of ideas, logistics, publicity, social media, et al.”
Referring to the theme of the conference, Srinidhi points out that an important metaphor of the conference is the idea of journeys. “Sthiti Gati is not merely an exploration of Bharatanatyam but an attempt to revisit the journeys of many dancers and dance scholars .
A dedicated team, of which Akhila Krishnamurthy of Aalaap is an integral part, has been working to put together ideas and artists. The conference, will begin with the conferring of the Natya Kala Visharadha title on Dr. Pappu Venugopal Rao by Vyjayanthimala Bali.
The conference will be inaugurated at 9.30 a.m. on December 26 and at 10.30 a.m. Lakshmi Viswanathan will talk about ‘The Bharatanatyam Dancer from an Era Bygone’ and Revathy Sankkaran will focus on ‘Bharatanatyam Stars and the Silver Screen.’ The day’s panel discussion moderated by Srinidhi will revolve round ‘The Dancer, The Persona — Of Today and Tomorrow’.
December 27: ‘The Magic of Margam - Poetry, Musicality, Movement’, an exploration by Alarmel Valli; ‘The Thematic Solo - Birth and Growth’ by Padma Subrahmanyam; ‘Dymanics of the group performance’ by the Dhananjayans.
December 28: ‘Making Bharatanatyam Accessible - Themes and Techniques’: observations by Rama Vaidyanathan, followed by a panel discussion on ‘Music for Dance’; Anita Ratnam will talk about ‘Emerging Trends in Performances and Presentations’, and the final segment has V. V. Ramani discussing costume and stage aesthetics.
The fourth day begins with the screening of ‘The Thinking Body’ by Kadambari; ‘When the Traditional Gurus Taught...a conversation between Nandini Ramani and Swamimalai Suresh; Priyadarsini Govind and Gowri Ramnarayan will exchange notes on ‘Parampara of the Dance Institution’. The last segment will be a panel discussion on ‘Teaching Bharatanatyam Today’, moderated by Urmila Satyanarayanan.
The concluding day begins with ‘Body as Canvas’ by Malavika Sarukkai, followed by Dr. Sheela Nambiar’s talk on ‘Strength Matters’, Geeta Chandran discusses the ‘Economics of Dance’ and Shobhana concludes with a presentation on her ‘Multi-faceted Journey in Bharatanatyam’.
