Over 600 artistes danced in unison at Durbar Hall ground in the city on Sunday as part of a special Bharatanatyam performance.
The performance was put together by students of Kalakshetra Vilasini or ‘Vilasini Teacher’ as she is known to her students. The group performed ‘Gourishankaram,’ which featured nine stories of Lord Siva, in a one-hour dance routine choreographed by Vilasini Teacher. The group included dancers as young as seven years old. Vilasini Teacher, at 75 years of age, was the oldest performer to take the stage in a tribute to the deity at the Ernakulam Siva Temple. Among the performers were Vilasini teacher’s daughters Shailaja and Sunitha, both of whom are teachers and former winners in the dance category at university youth festivals.
The performance was also a venue to honour the renowned dance teacher, who turned 75 last year. Teacher’s students, and their students, all turned up at the venue as a mark of respect for her. As a dancer, she was picked from over a hundred artistes to learn at the Kalakshetra when the Bharatanatyam department was conceived in RLV College. She served as the head of department for Bharatanatyam at the college for many years. Dance students from RLV College, St. Teresa’s College, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Sri Swathi Thirunal College of Music, Sree Chithira Thirunal Sangeetha Natya Kala Padana Kendram, and other dance institutes took part in the programme.
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