Nritya Pratibha, a three-day festival featuring young dancers, sponsored by Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, was organised by the Management Committee of Visakha Music and Dance Academy, Vishakapatnam, led in particular by its secretary G.R.K. Prasad (Rambabu). Held at Kalabharathi last week, the festival began on Tuesday with an Odissi by Ayona Bhaduri, who is taking advanced training from Sharmila Biswas of Odissi Vision and Management Centre, Kolkata, and widely performed. Exhibiting aesthetically well coordinated angikabhinaya, she was empathetically entertaining.
Similarly, Parvatee Menon and Lonisha Vijayanath impressively presented Bharatanatyam and Mohini Attam solo performances next. The evening concluded with Kuchipudi solos presented scintillatingly by Aditya Bulli Brahmam, son and disciple of the distinguished exponent Balakondala Rao.
The following evening witnessed Kaliya Daman and Tal Nachom in the Manipuri diction established by R.K. Singhajit Singh of Performing Artiste's Centre, Imphal. A recipient of National Scholarship, Hemolata Devi seemed to be honing her skills towards achieving perfection in performing solos with technical perfection and evoking empathy. Vedantham Siddhendra Vara Prasad who got initiated by his father, a noted exponent of Kuchipudi, Radheshyam, later featured under the tutelage of Vedantham Satyanarayana Sarma as a C.C.R.T. scholarship holder and got also set to play female roles as well in ballets. He perfectly presented Gollakalapam next. Kathakali by Kalamandalam Abin Babu from Kottayam, Andhra Natyam by A. Akhila from Hyderabad and Sneha Devanandam from Bangalore presenting Bharathanatyam next on the same evening also seemed to be improved in consistency showcasing their talent with some impression.
Solo and group presentation of ballets with epical, historical, folk and even tribal themes by Mridusmithas of Guwahati in Sattriya, Baripada and Seraikella Chhau dictins, Nangiarkoothu (Kutiyattam), Kuchipudi in particular by Bhagavathula Sowmya of Vijayawada and Namratha Pamnani from Delhi in Kathak dictions, marked the concluding evening of the third and the finale of the fete.
It was not that the shows were sans any noticeable blemishes in all aspects of presentation. But the young boys and girls made their stage presence look engagingly impressive for more than two hours.
