Aparna Pillai, an actor-dancer, is a disciple of Guru K.J. Sarasa (Bharatanatyam) and Srinivas (Kathak). She now works with Kavitha Ramu and presents group and solo performances with her.
Aparna recently presented a Bharatanatyam recital with the theme ‘Hari Smaranam' for Brahma Gana Sabha's Aadi Naatya Vizha. She is no doubt a talented dancer with an expressive face and a vibrant stage presence but it was a question of packaged glamour and wasted talent that evening. The recital was a blaze of high energy and racy presentations that skimmed the surface. There were no pauses, no scope for reflection and no chances of going past the superficial.
Despite this, Aparna's excellent communicative skills did come through on a few occasions -- the story of the child-devotee Dhruva who is scolded by his step-mother Suruchi, and who eventually realises God from the Bhagavatham, and the Jatayu-Ravana fight from the Ramayana. Both featured in the Tyagaraja Pancharatna kriti, ‘Kanakanaruchira' (Varali, Adi) that was treated like a varnam with nritta sequences interspersing the composition.
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Another bright moment came during the vatsalya bhava piece, ‘Baaro Krishnaiyya' (Ragamalika, Adi, Kanakadasa). Yashoda's love for the child Krishna was sensitively portrayed. Aparna's nritta in the opening ‘Gopalaka Pahimam' (Bhoopala, Adi, Swati Tirunal), the Pancharatna kriti and the closing thillana (Kuntalavarali, Adi, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna) was uniformly quick, with the accent on pace and covering stage space. The high energy ‘flitting-across-the-stage' technique maybe impressive in the beginning but leaves no lasting impression.
Viswanathan (mridangam) held the rhythm together very capably through the dancer's hits and misses, while Kavitha Ramu provided adequate support on the nattuvangam. The music was of a high standard. Chitrambari's melody and M.S. Kannan's strong notes on the violin along with L. Subhasri's gentle accompaniment on the veena ensured an uninterrupted flow of good music.
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