It was good gesture on part of the Mahatma Fine Arts Academy run by the Mahatma group of schools in the city to organise a group arangetram for eight of its deserving students. Bharatanatyam arangetram is usually the solo debut of a student of the classical dance form. But on Thursday evening eight young dancers synchronised their footwork, body and hand movements with technical finesse in a single debut performance that left the audience absolutely enthralled.
“It was our endeavour to reduce the financial and organisational stresses that accompany arangetram programmes,” said Ms.Premalatha, Senior Principal of Mahatma group of schools.
This one-time event in the life of Bharatanatyam learners has become a costly wedding like affair that involves stitching new clothes, buying ornaments, hiring a good auditorium and paying for accompanying artistes. “We thought sharing the cost will reduce the burden on the parents,” added Ms.Premalatha. With the hard work of the students and their guru and the support from parents the programme was a success.
Though more than 100 students of the residential school at Alagarkoil learn Bharatanatyam at the Academy under dance master Kalidas as part of their extra-curricular activities, eight of them felt ready for the important milestone.
Six of them from were from Class IX and one each from Class XI and XII. Together, Abhinaya G, Sharmila Lakshmi C J K, Kaleeswari K, Keerthana N, Keerthana G, Lisika B, Priyadharshini RV, Sujana Shree G presented the full Bharatnatyam repertoire with pushpanjali, varanam, thillana, jatiswaram and padams to a houseful auditorium consisting of their parents, teachers, school mates and other friends and well wishers.
The first half of the recital consisted of the traditional pushpanjali done as a group performance. It was a vibrant invocation piece paying homage to Lord Ganesha and invoking other Gods that also gave the audience a peep into the dancers’ ability. The Jatiswaram, the abstract dance composition highlighted the dancers as a delightful bundle of energy and stamina.
The Padams, or expressive pieces that followed were a further opportunity for the dancers to demonstrate their talent. Group arangetrams have their own challenges like coordinating a number of dancers and also ensuring that each dancer gets the equal chance and time to shine and demonstrate her talents.
Such challenges were overcome by doing the three main items in group and the four padams with two girls each. If the enchanting Bho Shambho was a vibrant piece on Lord Shiva with intricate dance compositions, the Devineya thunai delicately presented the choreography in a feminine contrast for Goddess Meenakshi. The Lali Aadinal (Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi) and Kaleyuga varatham (Lord Murugan) were also executed with finesse that made the dancers, their families and the Guru proud of their achievement.
The thillana or the classic musical finale stood out with the convincing expressions and the gracious dance movements consisting of strong footwork, dynamic jumps and stamina of the young dancers. Credit should go to Natya kalaivalarmani Kalidas for the choreography as each piece was intricately composed using the eight dancers to create interesting formations. The story of each piece was well enacted and flawlessly executed by the dancers who had fine accompaniments in kural isaimani Gayatri Mohan as the lead vocalist, Ezhu isai Nathamani Kandasamy on violin, mirudhanga nathamani Ramesh Babu on mrudangam and Selvi Ganesh for make-up. The entire programme was beautifully coordinated by Kalidas’s guru, Natya Sudarmani Shanthi Arunagiri. The contrasting ragas and talas and mellifluous music provided the right dose of motivation to the young dancers.
“When they perform in groups like this,” said Ms.Premalatha, “it also helps them overcome stage fear and builds stamina gradually.”
