Dancer-teacher Meenakshi Chitharanjan and co-choreographer Pandanallur Pandian deserve praise for putting together ‘Raghava Yadava' for their students, Aparna Chitharanjan and Preethi Nedumaran. They used the power of Two intelligently, to bring out the best in the dancers. They introduced a sense of excitement into the nritta portions by changing their bearings, such as dancing on either corner facing each other or on diagonals. Their combined poses were another interesting feature. The dancers co-ordinated perfectly in the joint endeavours. The repertoire was in keeping with the theme of Rama and Krishna. The opening Pravesha Cholkattu in misra chapu talam and Thodayamangalam as a collection of verses from Bhadrachala Ramdas, Annamacharya, Vijaya Gopala Swami, etc., in ragamalika and talamalika, interspersed verses on Rama, Narasimha and Krishna avataras with sharp nritta passages.
Verses from Periyazhwar's ‘Paadi Para Paasurams' with additional musical inputs from S. Rajeswari, touched upon the Ramayana and Krishna Leela. Through the two actors, one saw a replay of Kaikeyi's role in Rama's banishment, Sita's kidnapping, building the bridge over the sea to Lanka and Ravana's defeat, among others. The incidents were detailed clearly, but were shrouded with a sense of predictability and self-consciousness. Their nritta exhibited good timing. The geometry of the body lines were marred by the bent elbow.
The only choreography or arrangement that one did not take to was the Kaalinga Narthana thillana (Gambhira Nattai, Adi, Oothukadu Venkata Subbaiyar) that was not vibrant enough. One got to see the best of the vocalist (G.R. Praveen) here, whose graph was otherwise oscillating.
Meenakshi Chitharanjan (nattuvangam) and Pandanallur Pandian (special effects) guided the dancers well, while Shakthivel Muruganandam (mridangam) added drama with an additional drum tuned to the panchamam note. Srinivasan (violin) and Nataraj (flute) were consistently melodious.
