Vivid descriptive images of Siva's aura, the many-sided awareness of a deeply besotted nayika, and contrastive voices of a mother's love were some of the themes that were handpicked by Vidya Subhramaniam in her recital.
While a major part of the recital engaged the syntax of Bharatanatyam the seasoned dancer also donned a different look with contemporary drama and mime for a short story in English. The performance came across as a persuasive collage of a dancer's creativity.
The ingenious combination of movements that cut through the performing space with a modern feel mingled with graceful ones that flashed on the Vazhuvoor style and powered the recital with life. Selective use of subtlety and exaggeration channelled the reach of Vidya's abhinaya. Vidya's proficiency enabled her to make a consistent impact in all the depictions and she was able to get to the core of the characters in almost all the pieces. This involvement was specially noticeable in the main pieces - the varnam and the short story.
Graceful torso waves and billowing flexes denoting the snake on Siva's neck were pointers of Vidya's technique that annealed abhinaya with graphic body language. Siva Panchakshara Stotram set off the recital and brought in the attributes of Siva's form and radiance. Even as the Khanda Chapu talam enforced the impression of strength, the quick change of ragas kept the pace slick and bright.
Delightful depictions
Siva, the object of the heroine's affections for the Thanjavur Quartet padavarnam, was pictured as an approachable hero rather than a distant and exalted divinity. Vidya's delineation linked up her essay of the earlier lines with the insouciance of the confident heroine in the charanam of the Sankarabharanam varnam ‘Manavi.’ The declaration of her passion and her egging on of the beloved were candid yet delightful depictions.
The dancer's power-packed execution of the adavus was an instance of her visualisation of giving traditional formations a tauter shape. Asha Ramesh's rendering of this ragam gave it the timbre of weightiness, as did the superior efforts of Jaisri Ramanathan's dexterous nattuvangam, Sakthivel Murugandam's mridangam playing and Muthukumar's pleasing performance on the flute.
Using the devices of theatre, dance and oratory Vidya's short story lay cosily nestled between a javali in Khamas and thillana. The content revolved round a mother ever fearful of the context of violence that today's children are placed against. A silvery scarf was the only prop of differentiation of the classical and contemporary. Vidya's complete control of the situation and the measured flow hinted at a homework well done and as the story unfurled, subtle undercurrents emerged that caught one's imagination so much so that the building up to the 'surprise gift' of the white kitten came with a sense of relief and amusement at the well being of the beloved son.
The Thillana in Chandrakauns and a bhajan celebrating Siva 's omniscience promptly returned the performance to a classical mode.
