The Nrityagram once again commemorated its founder Protima Gauri Bedi’s 16th death anniversary with a get-together of dancers, dance aficionados, dance critics across the land, friends of the great woman and dancer, her pupils and custodians of her cherished institution.
With stalwart gurus like Surupa Sen and Bijoyni Satpathy and their entourage, we were treated to a slice of what the famed academy offers, the technique it adopts, its approach to teaching and learning, its focus, objectives and its artistic inclinations.
By large, Nrityagram features a holistic approach to the art of living. It instils veneration for gurus-an endangered trait today- inculcates discipline, diligence and dedication to dance.
Surupa Sen, the director of Nrityagram, gave the audience a down-to-earth briefing on the activities at Nrityagram.
Not a step out of place, not an eye distracted, the little ones, the freshers were so confident, full of pep to showcase whatever they had learnt till then.
It was a pleasure to see them all on the stage with simple costumes, dance their way right into our hearts. Another set of pupils, demonstrated the ‘mudra’ (hand gestures) which was quite a learning experience for those who never went into the intricacies of dance, for one mudra could actually specify a host of meanings. The senior pupils, dancing gracefully to the tunes of ‘Muralipaani …’ now playing a gleeful Krsna, alternating as the coy gopis utterly in love with the mischievous blue-hued lord, conjoining and pairing in twos and fours forming a vivid picture of story in motion.
The Dashavatar, the archetypal Odissi song by Jayadeva, was recreated with an emphasis on story-telling through mime and static postures with the nritta element in tow.
Vivacity and verve seemed to be the hallmark of Nrityagram, which was aesthetically appealing. The highlight of the evening came in the form of Bijoyini Satpathy and Pavitra Reddy, speaking the language of dance through footwork patterns and gestural indications.
We wished they went into a full-fledged performance as most of us were looking forward to being treated to a dessert after a sumptuous dinner!
A few senior learners from the city who were in other professions and yet had a passion to learn dance, shared their experiences about Nrityagram and its gurus who had inculcated a sense of self-confidence along with moulding their dance capabilities.
