Come December and its time for the biennial event that is all set to rock the world of classical dance, more particularly, those who love the 600-year-old Kuchipudi dance form. The 3 International Kuchipudi Dance Convention will kick off at the Indoor Stadium at the Gachibowli Sports Complex on December 23.
An estimated 7,000 delegates from 18 countries have registered and organisers of the SiliconAndhra, the organisation behind it have closed registrations. The ‘Mahabrinda Natyam’ will have at least 4,000 artistes performing at the GMC Balayogi Stadium on December 25, in a tribute to Padmabhushan Vempati Chinna Satyam.
At the last convention in 2010, about 3,000 artistes were present, said Anand Kuchibhotla, founder of SiliconAndhra, who currently lives in San Jose, USA. “I have always been consumed with a desire to keep Telugu alive. And it took me 14 years to put SiliconAndhra together with like-minded friends. Our goal is keep our language alive and hand it over safely to our next generation,” he said.
Delegates and artistes are flying in from the US, Australia, United Kingdom, Italy, Ukraine, Israel, Singapore, Mauritius, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Germany, Canada, Kuwait and Dubai, apart from various parts of India. The ‘Mahabrinda Natyam’ will have specially-choreographed performances titled, ‘Brahmanjali’ and ‘Dasavatara Sabdam’, he said.
The convention aims at bringing together five generations of dancers from living legends to current students. The focus, Mr. Anand said, was to inspire generation next to take to Kuchipudi. December 23 and 24 will see lecture demonstrations, workshops, research paper presentations and performances, all showcasing the beauty and glory of Kuchipudi dance.
