Potpourri of dances

Budding talents presented bhakti-based compositions with enthusiasm

: Uday Sankar giving aperformance at Kalabharati Visakhapatnam. Photo: C.V.Subrahmanyam

Ambikeswara Kuchpudi Dance and Music Academy celebrated its 34th anniversary on an impressive note at Kalabharati Visakhapatnam. With most of the participants being budding talents, the event witnessed enthusiasm at its best in the presentation of pieces. The session stood divided into two parts — the first being a slot for juniors, full of Annamayya compositions and the second for seniors.

It was a devotional series and each artiste vied with another in the depiction of the mood.

More than technicalities and nitty-gritty of stage performance, it was their sense of enthusiasm that was markedly pervasive all around. Annamayya visualized Lord Venkateswara in each and every conceivable way singing paeans to the glory of the Lord.

The team presented these aspects through

Srimannarayana, Brahma Kadigina Paadamu, Adivo alladivo and Swathi Tirunal’s Paramapurusha . The descriptive details of the lyrics found fairly good expression in sync with suggestive hastas and appropriate foot work.

In the piece Brahma Kadigina Padamu , the attributes of Lord’s feet that measured the universe in three paces and other attendant details stood well articulated in gestural language. In this segment, Jathiswaram, a pure dance number with intricate movements was another notable presentation.

The second section almost revolved around Lord Shiva. After the mandatory invocatory numbers the session has hardly three pieces. While

Govardhanagiridhari , a tarangam of sage Narayana Theertha dealt with the divine play of Lord Krishna and the miracles that the Lord performed in his childhood,

Ananda Thandavamade Sivudu , a lyric of Dr C Narayana Reddy, explored the varied facets of Lord Siva and his consort Parvathi in an ecstatic mood of cosmic dance and ‘Ardhanaareeswaram’ was another number that dealt with almost the same theme, with minor variations in detail. Over all the performance left much to be desired in terms of depth and verve of Kuchipudi in its effervescence.

It got rounded off with a bubbly Tillana of MBK in raga Brindavani. The event was presented with a pre -recorded orchestral support. A better recording quality would have enhanced its musical effect.