Renowned Kuchipudi artiste Deepika Reddy recently performed at the Khajuraho Dance Festival, after a gap of ten years. Her one-hour performance of Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Chandalika’ won her instant fans from the audience.
Speaking about her experience, Deepika Reddy says it is always an exhilarating experience. “The breathtaking ambience with the magnificent temple backdrop takes the performance to a different level. Despite performing here after ten years, I vividly remember the wonderful experience I have had earlier also,” Deepika says. She fondly recalls her first performance at Khajuraho, when she had performed under the guidance of her guru Vempati Chinna Satyam in 1992. “My guru had received the prestigious Kalidas Samman that year,” says Deepika.
Again Deepika performed in 2006 with her troupe. It was then that somebody told her parents, Aap ne Saraswathi ko janam diya hai . That one sentence speaks volumes of her hard work, determination and dedication. This year too was no different. Audience from Chennai, who were there to attend the festival, was in full praise of her dance and choreography.
“I was mobbed for pictures after the show,” recalls the dancer. Another quirky compliment from the audience was it was a ‘paisa vasool performance’.
There are so many dance festivals like Konark, Chidambaram, Khajuraho, what is special about Kahjuraho, the dancer without batting an eye lid says: “It is one of the much sought after festivals to perform in and brings out the best in every dancer. Moreover, it brings in various dance styles on one platform.”
On what is the audience like, the Kuchipudi exponent says: “It predominantly consists of tourists from all parts of the world and the length and breadth of the country. The festival is held at the same time every year giving an opportunity for the dance enthusiasts to plan ahead for their trip to Khajuraho.”
Sharing the special dance piece for the Khajuraho festival, dancer Deepika says it was Ravindra Smriti specially choreographed as a tribute to the renowned litterateur Rabindranath Tagore, whose greatness still shines brightly. “The dancer offers her salutations to the poet who represents the intellect and brilliance of Bengal. This piece brought out yet another unique element from the Kuchpudi repertoire, Pathra Pravesha Daruvu, wherein the dancer introduces the character she is enacting to the audience. Three female characters — Chitrangadha, Chandalika and Syama — with diverse moods were chosen from a plethora of works by the great poet and dramatist,” says Deepika. ‘Ravindra Smriti’ has been written by Pappu Venugopal Rao, tuned by D.S.V. Sastry and choreographed by Deepika Reddy. It is in this solo performance that emoting Chandalika, Deepika left her stamp on the audience.
On what goes into while preparing for such festivals, Deepika says: “While choreographing and planning items for a festival like this I brainstorm with my students to plan items that will reach out to the audience from different parts of the world and try to perform some pieces that they can relate to. I changed the choreography while rehearsing on the previous day at the venue to make use of the beautiful sets and props that were put up to make the entries vibrant and the performance more aesthetic. The lighting also plays a key role — so we interacted with the lighting technician while rehearsing to get the right effects for the right moments.”
Her troupe members included Pooja Reddy, Srinivasa Sreya, Pragna Surapaneni, Samatha Bezawada, Niveda Ankireddy, Salena Chowdri, Ruthvika Nalamalapu and daughter-disciple Shloka Reddy.
The dancer completely agrees that dance festivals can be organised in Telangana too. “Our state has so many historic places that can be used as great venues for such festivals. The government should try to make our state a great tourist destination through performing art forms,” Deepika says before signing off.
