#adavu

[youtuberasika]

Melvin Varghese! I would definitely love to see more of his dancing in the future. I'm not a huge fan of Parswanath's style of choreography, but here it works in Melvin's favor. He's clearly able to pull of the lightening fast adavus in quick succession in a precise way.

[youtuberasika]

Swami Naan Undan Adimai, a bhakthi (devotional) Varnam in praise of Shiva. I like how the dancer Tharani Krishnan renders the periya theermana adavu, with her head sharply following her hand through the entire motion. Which I think works to her advantage stylistically since the hand travels over her shoulder on the side, rather than going above the head in other styles. Just something I noticed.

[youtuberasika]

Bharatanatyam to Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker! I've always wondered if it was possible to successfully perform Bharatanatyam to western classical music. Surprisingly it works. I think they did well by incorporating various nadai (walks) and semi-mei adavu movements, which along with the lack of salangai (ankle bells), melded beautifully with the flow of the music.

[youtuberasika]

Parshwanath performing a Varnam on Krishna. I love the incorporation of various poses and depictions of Krishna in the trikala jathi. Though at times I think it does become a little overkill, especially since the first line of the Varnam already establishes Krishna as the subject of the piece. Compare this to the trikala jathi in the Krishna Nrityopaharam by the Dhananjayans, which I think does a better job balancing nritta with expressive poses.

[youtuberasika]

More footage from Cleveland! This is Nivedha Ramalingam, a finalist in the Bharatanatyam competition at the 2012 Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana. She displays a wonderfully deep araimandi, executing adavus with high energy. Her kuditta metta adavu in particular showcases her thoroughness with nritta, with heels raised high almost creating two parallel lines with her feet.

[youtuberasika]

Kalakshetra (like the Music Academy) has been notorious for banning the use of videography within their auditoriums. It's understandable to feel protective over choreography, but I personally disagree with such restrictions. Whether or not someone uses a camera, replicating another's choreography will always happen. Yes people can copy it, but consider it a compliment. Seasoned rasikas know the difference between taught versus imitated movement. If an artist makes videos/cds and sells them, they are directly controlling the content and quality of what they put out; simultaneously increasing their publicity and discouraging use of handycams.

At least now Kalakshetra can profit by making videos of their performances. Recently they started a series on their unique style, focusing on various exercises and adavus that differentiate the Kalakshetra school from others. It's educational value is really priceless, and these new videos of their dance dramas will really inspire a lot of dancers and dance euthusiasts who admire Rukmini Devi's choreography. I have never seen Sita Swayamvaram and I certainly look forward to getting the DVD!