The incessant downpour gave a respite for few hours and dance lovers rushed to the amphitheatre in the cosy backyard of Saptaparni. Priya Raman was fortunate to have her exclusive audience who were treated to a brief but impressive solo presentation in the ‘margam' format.
Her varnam in Natakuranji said it all. The extensive piece on Lord Nataraja was laced with well-laid out jatis , firm footwork and hasthabhinaya .
Her artistry came to the fore in depicting the lord of dance in different postures and her moves were accurate and measured. Priya's dance was marked by a sense of diligence and discipline. The lovely lyrics in the varnam could have been spiced by a depiction that would give a dimension to the sanchari bhava .
The ‘Rusli Radha, rusla Madhav' in Misra Yaman, a padam in Marathi, an abhinaya -oriented piece going by its format, as was the one that followed- a Patnam Subramanya Iyer's jawali in Behag were too nearly placed to distinguish the difference. A light nritta -based presentation could have been sandwiched to outline the distinct character of the padam and the jawali provided the venue and the inclement weather gave scope for a longer performance.
Samayamidhi raara … (jawali) was handled with a controlled abhinaya . A little more thought and expression on the abhinaya front making for a ‘natural' responses to the content of the lyrics, would take the artist a long way in future.
The tillana , a Lalgudi Jayaraman's composition in Mohana Kalyani was rendered in its typical style minus spectacular adavu patterns. Priya's potential was evident going by this brief performance. Swetha Prasad on the vocal was compelling as was Renuka Prasad. Mridangam by Bhanu Prasad was impressive. Violinist Anil Kumar was up to the mark.
