It is indeed an asset to have an experienced, and talented team of musicians for any dance production, and this was evident at ‘Dhwani’, Resonance That Paints’, the new work of Sheejith Krishna and Sahrdaya Repertory, for the arts festival organised by Alaapana Trust.
Sheejith Krishna’s ‘Dhwani’ Resonance That Paints, at Bharathiya Vidhya Bhavan, Mylapore. | Photo Credit: PICHUMANI K / THE HINDU ARCHIVES
Girish Madhu on nattuvangam, Ramesh Babu on the mridangam, Eashwar Ramakrishnan on the violin, Muthukumar on the flute, Ananthanarayanan on the veena and Rakesh Payyada on the ganjira formed a formidable team that provided melodious music to match the vocal rendition of O.S. Arun. Together they seamlessly moved from one raga and tala to another .
Not to be outdone, the group of competent dancers kept pace, with their rhythmic footwork.
Lines from Dharu varnam ‘Mathe’ in khamas played by the instrumental team, alternated with sollukattus for the long-drawn introductory sequence of rhythmic movements. A thillana was a continuum to the song.
Abhinaya became the centre of focus as three senior dancers, Manjari Chandrasekhar, Anjana Anand, and Sheejith Krishna, explored the ideas expressed in the Swati Tirunal, Behag raga composition ‘Saramainamaata’.
Diverse imageries
Sheejith Krishna, presenting ‘Dhwani’ Resonance That Paints, at Bharathiya Vidhya Bhavan. | Photo Credit: PICHUMANI K / THE HINDU ARCHIVES
Each explored the poetic imagery in the lyrics in their own individual way. The lighting design (Venkatesh Krishnan), with the spotlight shifting from one dancer to another for each line of the song, helped the viewer observe each artiste closely. A thillana followed to bring back the focus on rhythm.
The joyous union of Krishna and gopis in raas leela performed by four dancers also conveyed the splendour of nature. This piece again culminated in a thillana.
Next came a composition that featured six dancers, who, through rhythmic patterns and group formations, narrated the story of Kartikeya. Beginning with his birth, the six dancers as six children come together as Arumuga. Then came yet another thillana.
The well-coordinated movements, smooth entries and exits, aesthetically designed costumes and group formations revealed the efforts that have gone into putting together the production.
But one also felt the need for dancers and choreographers to be self-critical, to be able to fine-tune and edit their work before staging it. Going on a rhythm spree without an emotional anchor and packing in four thillanas, each lasting nearly 10 to 15 minutes, in a two-hour programme can be monotonous to watch. The idea of sound, its manifestation and moments of silences could have been explored in depth.
In fact, the evening was more about dhrishyam (visuals) than dhwani.
The Chennai-based writer reviews classical dance.
