As the young dancers rhythmically moved their nimble feet in tandem, the venue reverberated in sync with 7,000 pairs of ‘ghungroos’.
It was a brilliant presentation of Kuchipudi dance by 7,000-plus students of Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Schools (Girls) from Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts, who gathered at Andhra University Engineering Grounds to demonstrate their dancing skills nurtured for the past two months. The endeavour aims at creating a record for the largest Kuchipudi dance performance.
With this feat, Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society aims to enter the Guinness Book of World Records, breaking the earlier record of largest Kuchipudi dance performance, comprising 6,117 participants held in Vijayawada last December.
About 21 APSWR schools participated in the endeavour organised by APSWREIS that also aimed to mark the 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Aspiring dancers, who belonged to the economically weaker sections, considered the platform a rare opportunity. “Even in my wildest dreams, I never thought I would be performing in front of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Though we did struggle to pick up the nuances of the classical dance form in such a short span of time, the result is amazing,” says a visibly excited K. Sirisha, a Class X student of APSWRS, Arjunagiri, Chodavaram Mandal.
Similarly for Jayanthi, a student of APSWRS, Vaddadi, Butchayyapeta Mandal, Kuchipudi ‘arangetram’ turned out to be a memorable one. “We hardly get a chance to step out of the residential school. Though summer camps offer a whiff of fresh air, this kind of avenues connect us to a larger audience wherein the process of learning becomes effective,” she opines.
Though the feat continued for a little over 15 minutes, the rehearsals continued for hours. Mr. Naidu appreciated the zeal showcased by the dancers. He termed the endeavour a historic achievement that reflect the Telugu culture.
Secretary of APRWAS Colonel Ramulu said the video recording of the event would be sent to the management team of the Guinness World of Records.
