Can you visualise dance without vocal music? Doesn’t literature enhance the lyrical quintessence in dance? Aren’t lyrics the lifeline for dancers to take cue for their abhinaya ? A Mohiniyattam performance by Dr. Rekha Raju of the Ananya Cultural Academy titled ‘Laya Lasya without the support of vocals’ is an example of the latest experimentation for connecting with the audience.
The performance attempts to buck the established trend that vocal music is the dancer’s only guide.
“Don’t we listen to instrumental music, or enjoy the birds chirping in melody? Are there any lyrics there?” says R.V. Raghavendra of the Ananya Cultural Academy. Audiences welcomed danseuse Priyadarshini Govind’s experimentation when she set her expressive stance to T.M. Krishna’s vocals without any other musical support, says Mr. Raghavendra.
“We also had the renowned Dhananjayans dance purely to Mahesh Swamy’s flute in our ‘Bhava Sankramana’ programme ,” he says. Dr. Raju, a student of Prof. Janardhanan of Kalakshetra, seems excited about the experimentation. “My experimental conceptualisation would be completely on the evolution of music where I would take up Mohiniyattam from sarlivarse onwards to a pancharatna kriti, tillana and devaranama,” she says.
The performance is scheduled on June 19 at the Seva Sadan, 14th Cross Malleswaram at 6.30 p.m.
