At 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning, the walkway of Alliance Francaise de Bangalore was lined with snapshots of various dancers who were all set to provide a visual feast, to an audience with a taste for this art form. A gallery of framed photographs of these dancers which were for sale, provided a glimpse of the day’s performers. On the occasion of World Dance Day 2015, for the fifth consecutive year, 108 artistes from across the country gathered to celebrate dance.
The idea of conducting this event grew out of a seminar on Dance DISCourse, India’s unique academic dance series that takes place once every two months. Dance critic, scholar and writer – Ashish Khokar’s Attendance History Society in collaboration with Bangalore School of Music, HCG Foundation, Opera Promotions and Padmini Ravi Dance Academy presented the twelve-hour Danceathon, with performers ranging from the age of five to 65. “Being World Dance Day, we felt that it was good to present the known and the unknown, the star and the senior and also the ones showing potential,” said Ashish Khokar, who believes that many dancers do not get a chance to perform on a professional platform.
What was special about this year’s festival? – The theme for the festival comprised screening of short films documenting the art form, a photo exhibition, and a seminar on Dance Matters – . mChildren’s performances, marathon of performances by artistes like Meghna Das, a professional Odissi dancer who performed Jayadeva’s Ashtapadi from Geet Gobind, Bharatanatyam duet, by the Radhakrishna sisters – Bianca and Natash enchanted the audience, Swapna Rajendrakumar’s Mohiniattam recital on the friendship between Krishna and Sudhama; N. Gururaj’s Kuchipudi style Shiva Stuthi; Manjula Amareesh’s Akka Mahadevi, were all a part of the vibrance that enthralled the audience by adding uniqueness to a day that could have become exhausting and monotonous. Being India’s largest single-day gathering of and by dancers, Danceathon was well-organised and smoothly managed despite a few technical glitches. A Sunday well-spent, it was an impartial and professional platform for dance and dancers, along with an opportunity to develop their stage presentation skills and relationship with the rasikas (audience).
As said by Ashish Khokar, “Dance matters! Dance is important, inclusive and all encompassing. Dance matters in society and dance matters concern many.”
