Friday Review
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A way of life
K. PRADEEP
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Swathy Ashok was chosen by a panel of critics as one of the best at the Konark Dance Festival.
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traditionalist: Swathy Ashok.
Swathy Ashok is like any of the Gen Next girls. But when it comes to Bharatanatyam she transforms into a hard core traditionalist. Swathy swears by the timeless beauty of the margam.
Vazhuvoor school
Trained by Urmila Sathyanarayanan of the Vazhuvoor style, Swathy has been an integral part of the performances of her dance school ‘Natya Sankalpaa’ since 1998. Her arangetram was in 2004.
Stage presence combined with an innate talent for abhinaya is Swathy’s forte. Her ability to improvise on episodes, her keenness to communicate all that she has learned, confidence and composure makes Swathy one of the most promising young dancers.
She has had the honour of having performed twice at the Chidambaram Natyanjali Festival, and at the Konark Dance Festival in 2003.
At the Konark festival, Swathy was among the eight dancers picked by a panel of critics as the best of the festival in the different classical streams. Swathy has also performed in Canada.
All the while, there was one thing that bothered Swathy and her family. They had never performed in Kerala.
“This time I performed at Melpathoor Auditorium at Guruvayur temple. It was a full performance with pushpanjali, varnam, padam, thillana, a bhajan, Ganesha sloka and a specially choreographed piece on the Janappana,” she says.
Swathy is in her Plus Two; a stage when she will have to decide her future. “Dance will always be a part of my life. It has become a way of life for me.”
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
