Priyadarsini is making classical dance accessible to everyone

Priyadarsini Govind introduced students to the basics of Bharatanatyam at a SPIC MACAY performance

The students sat with bated breath. The atmosphere was electrifying as the students waited for the Bharatanatyam performance to begin. It was that time of the year when, My School Satya Surabi, Attuvampatti, Kodaikanal, a school founded to educate disadvantaged rural children of the Palani Hills, hosted a dance performance, sponsored by SPIC MACAY, a Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Among Youth.

And this time it was the classical Bharatanatyam dancer, Priyadarshini Govind. She was accompanied by Preethy Maheshwar (vocal support), Nithyakalyani Vaidyanathan (nattuvangam), Sakthivel Muruganandam (mridangam) and N. Sigamani (violin).

The compact hall was filled to its maximum capacity, with students from Saantham School, Bhavan’s Vidyashram, Praak Foundation, Kodaikanal Public School and My School Satya Surabhi.

The lec-dem began with the dancer connecting with her young audience, questioning them gently on their knowledge of the art form. Few hands shot up, when she asked them if they knew to dance Bharatanatyam. After the invocation, Priyadarsini Govind demonstrated the adavu, the basic rhythmic dance steps which is the foundation. Shakthi Priyadarshini, Std. XI, Kodaikanal Public School, demonstrated this along with the dancer. She explained that these adavus were like alphabets to make a word and the mudras or the abhinayas helped to convey the emotions or the story across to the audience.

Interesting tales

The children were taught to imitate the flight of a bird, a butterfly and then a bee sucking the honey from a flower. She highlighted the fact that a dancer is basically a storyteller, who narrates through her movements and expressions. With this, she slipped into the role of a storyteller, narrating the story of ‘The crow and the fox.’ The children were stunned to hear that there was maths in music, but were quick to keep up with the beats on the mridangam.

The story of Krishna teaching a girl what Mukhari raga was, by pinching her cheek so hard, to make her burst into tears, was another delightful dance to witness. It was explained and demonstrated that the thillana is the conclusion to a Bharatanatyam performance and with this Priyadarshini Govind gracefully presented a fitting finale – the Vande Mataram – a homage to Mother India that came with a message, to preserve and conserve a clean India.

For many children this was the first time that they were witnessing a live dance concert. It is sure to kindle an interest in them to watch other traditional dances of India.