The Chennai series of Navapallava was hosted by senior dancer Sailaja on Saturday, June 15, at the Kapaleeswarar temple, Mylapore, Chennai. In her welcome address, Sailaja spelt out the objective of the festival as an initiative against the ‘Pay & Perform’ concept.
“The exploitation of young talented dancers by asking them to pay huge amounts to fund their own performances demeans the art, the dancers’ artistry and gurus,” Sailaja pointed out. “And senior dancers deserve to be paid fitting remuneration for their performances as they are professional artistes, which is not happening,” she added. How many among the audience are even aware of this situation, she wondered.
Chief guests on the occasion were K. Ramaswamy, director, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai, and S. Nagin, Past District Governor, Lions Club. Mr. Ramaswamy said that senior artistes and art institutions should come together and organise dance programmes and festivals to promote young talents. He also suggested that artistes should identify and approach those organisations, which promote art and culture with genuine interest.
In his speech, Mr. Nagin highlighted the importance of dance and the right and respect that the dancers should be given. Natya-Nritya exponent Padma Subrahmanyam expressed her support for the cause and commended Sailaja for holding the issue up for public view. Roja Kannan, president, Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India, vouched ABHAI’s support for up-and-coming stars.
Sarita Mishra
Several Natya practitioners, including Gayathri Kannan, Sreelatha Vinod, Shanmugha Sundaram, Aswathi Srikanth, Sasirekha Rammohan, Sanhita Basu Ghose and Gayathri Rajaji attended the event.
On the performance front, the festival showcased Sarita Mishra (Odissi, Bengaluru) and Vithya Arasu (Puducherry), who presented a traditional repertoire of Bharatanrityam.
