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Diwali Event at the Goodnow Library

A short dance performed at the local library by me and my students for Diwali (Festival of Lights)

Diwali Event at the Goodnow Library

A short dance performed at the local library by my students for Diwali (Festival of Lights)

Avartanam

There are many metaphoric versions of the story defining the term dance and its origin in ancient Indian treatises. In this piece, we presented one of the interpretations pertaining to the question “What is dance” by showing its omnipresence throughout the cycle of life. The piece is structured in four parts: creation, sustenance, destruction and recreation.

The dance is set to music combining different tracks from “The Rise”, “The Lasya” and “Sivoham”.

Laila-Majnu

Eternal love story of Laila-Majnu performed at IGSA UW-Madison’s Diwali Night 2015.

Journey

“Journey” is a kaleidoscope of emotions: joy, excitement, eagerness, but at other times possibly anxiety, weariness and fatigue. Life itself is probably the most elaborate and wonderful journey that we will ever experience. And in this journey of life, as we move from one place to another or from one experience to another, we face new scenarios and challenges. With time, however; the journey of life progresses. We adapt, learn from what is around us and evolve as people ;enjoying every temporary destination, however scary or challenging it may have initially seemed. And to each destination, we bring a little bit of who we are and what we have learnt so far. From it, we take away other wonderful aspects that will continue to shape our own personalities on our paths forward.

Here, we presented the story of some villagers, who lead merry and contented lives in their own surroundings. One day, they decide to explore what lies beyond their tranquil setting, and undertake a journey to the city. Their expectations of life in the city are at odds with the reality they face upon arrival. Instead of the romanticized metropolis they expected, and the dance is about how they reconcile the two.

DancSync

We presented a dance that was a mix of various dance styles, including Bharatanatyam.

Bollywood at Diwali Night

An amalgamation of multiple Bollywood songs and dances from over the years.

Ode to the Sun

No matter how dark the night, somehow the sun rises once again and all shadows are chased away. The next dance is an ode to the Sun, the bringer of life, performed mostly in the Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam, but borrowing from other classical and contemporary dance styles. The dance is set to a beautiful instrumental score composed by Ganesh and Kumaresh.

Ramayana

Ramayana is a Hindu epic that tells the story of Rama, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu. It is considered a sacred text in Hinduism. Ramayana is the story of King Rama who must save his kidnapped wife, Sita.

Rama is born in Ayodhya to King Dasharatha.Rama wins Sita’s hand in an archery contest. Rama is banished from Ayodhya for 14 years. Rama and Sita live in exile in the forest with Rama’s brother Lakshmana. Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, kidnaps Sita. Rama enlists the help of monkey warriors to rescue Sita. Rama defeats Ravana and returns to Ayodhya with Sita. Rama is crowned king of Ayodhya. Along the way, this epic teaches life lessons.

Nrithya Ranjani- 2010

A 30-minute dance of the nine emotions or Nava Rasa that form the fundamental framework of Bharatanatyam favial expressions. Here this photos depicts our final pose of Shantam or Peace.

Nrithya Ranjani- 2009

Nrithya Ranjani was an evening-length performance of various traditional pieces. The picture is from a dance to a song called ‘Enna Thavam’ in ragam Kapi. The refrain of the song is addressed to Yashoda (Lord Krishna’s mother) and asks “What penance must you have performed that the omnipresent Lord himself calls you ‘Amma’ (mother)”

Sangamam - 2008

An evening-length performance including the story depicted here of Panchali Sabatham, from the Mahabaratha epic. This depicts the dice-playing scene of the Mahabharata, played by the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Yudhishtra loses all his wealth to the scheming Duryodhana and finally ends up betting his wife in a desperate last round.

Nrithya Ranjani - 2008

An evening-length performance with multiple dance pieces ending with a Thillana in ragam Dhanashree

Nrithya Ranjani - 2007

Depicted here is a Thlllana in ragam Madhuvanthi which concluded an evening-length performance with multiple dance pieces.

Solo evening-length performance

A 3-hour full-length Margam (traditional sequence of dance pieces). I was awarded a top 10 dancers award of the year by VDS Dance Academy in Chennai, India.

Arangetram

A solo debut performance for a young Indian classical dancer. It marks the end of their formal training and the beginning of their professional career. The term “arangetram” is Tamil for “ascending the stage”