We are all connected !

This Sunday morning when i went to my dance class in R.T.Nagar my dearest loveliest kids of Bharathanatyam all dressed beautifully in Maroon & white churidhar gleaming with so much of love were waiting for us.

My heart filled with Joy on seeing them & at the same time sank as life was going to take a new turn, for me & them.

These children are very special to me & close to my heart because they are highly sincere ,humble ,innocent & loving.Though they are very young ( between 7 years to 14 years) they are matured & carry themselves in a dignified manner. They are disciplined & restrained, they give utmost respect to the teachers & exude purity - an essential quality for a true learner.

I have seen this from way back in 1989 when i first started teaching in R.T.Nagar. 

I loved going there spending 6 to 7 hours teaching three batches of students.

It was a blissful world.Everybody sang, recited ,danced & there was no time limit.

The juniors would look at the seniors & be so inspired & the seniors took special care

to see that they bring the best & there was great chemistry between all levels of students & myself.

Throughout my travel (from Basavanagudi to R.T.Nagar) in the autorickshaw i used to sing all the Bharathanatyam songs, recite jathis & prepare for the classes.My mind would constantly be working on how BEST i could motivate these students to dance with love with joy & devised various innovative techniques to make them connect with Bharathanatyam,with carnatic music, with poetry & above all with their inner joyful selves.I used to look forward to go these classes & loved my time with the students. In all these 22 years of my teaching life in R.T.Nagar, I loved all my students.

22 years of my connection , my love ... was going to take a new turn.

Several hundreds imbibed the beautiful art of Bharathanatyam & it is heartening that some of them today have taken dance as a profession.

We wanted our senior dancers to experience our approach of inspired teaching & to have a sustenance but we only could offer modest salary to teach in the R.T.Nagar class.

My first faculty Umalakshmi did such a brilliant work that the kids instantly loved her.She stood out for her sparkling eyes & loving kindness .She not only took responsibility of classes but also danced as an active member of performing unit & even earned her way up to become the rehearsal conductor of Abhinava Dance Company.

In course of time, senior students from my class in R.T.Nagar moved away due to various reasons of marriage, family, higher education etc & so i had to call the remaining ones to continue through private classes at our Gandhi bazar studio. 

While my heart was yearning to be with the children the sessions were very well managed by two faculty members.

I was able to go see my love ( children) only once a month & sometimes once in two months. 

But whenever i did, i came home with great joy & pride & would not stop describing the classes to Rajendra. I had fallen in love with the children.

A deep pain gushes in my inner being when i realise that my love will now only be a past.

I need some time to contain my emotions to express further...

...................

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With time , our senior students actually become our spiritual daughters & we experience all the pains & pleasures that a parent experiences.When they do well ...we celebrate ,when they suffer we tear ourselves to see how best we can be of help.We feel very good when we see them happy & well settled.

But life offers challenges in such ways that we have to take conscious steps to transcend them.

Still life can be quite complex.There have been many situations where we have taken special paths to make things better for the students. 

But what happens when ,

We have to make a choice between our own personal interest & the well being of a dear student.

One of our senior faculty member ( our spiritual daughter) had taken a break for one year from dance was looking for opportunities to get back to dance & we wanted to hand hold her into the next phase. 

Then came the most beautiful idea & i knew this would be the best for all. 

I was going to hand over the Bharathanatyam school completely to her just like mothers who pass on their precious ancestral jewellery to their daughters.

The person well deserved this for ,she was ready to take on any challenge & revealed upmost love & respect for Art, for us & specially for inspired teaching for the students.

It was painful to convince some children as were heartbroken but i must surrender to the Magnanimity of all the parents who silently accepted this change & supported us & in turn supported their new director.

On the beautiful morning of June 12th 2011. the Bharathanatyam class which was started 22 years ago was ably handed over with all love & affection with a traditional Puja to Lord Almighty & amidst the presence of all the kids  & parents.

While i announced the name of this Parallel institution i could feel the heat rise within me .

The new director was beaming with so much of gratitude ( she was always sweet & grateful) 

Some parents cried while others greeted with joy but seeing all the children ,my love for them simply could not allow me to stay normal . I quickly left the hall. Some very young ones came up & innocently said "happy journey maaaaaaam..." 

I thanked them & told myself ...this indeed was ONE JOURNEY FOR ME.

I sat in the car & rolled the windows up before my face could reveal my surging emotions.

I questioned my own sentiments of my deep attachment to this long term associated class & the Children. Sacrificing personal interests for the well being of our dear ones made us touch another dimension of ourselves & we are very grateful to God for this experience.

We have the utmost satisfaction that our spiritual daughter with all her talents & dedication will take great care of the young students & create a good establishment for herself & for quality Art.

 God bless her & her newly formed institution.

Posted via email from Abhinava Dance Company

Creative kathak | www.indianlink.com.au

Creative kathak

Melbourne News

Bangalore based dancing duo Nirupama and Rajendra made a spectacular debut in Australia recently, they talk about their art and aspirations to Preeti Jabbal  

This winter, Melbourne and Sydney were blessed with spectacular performances from the dancing duo, Nirupama and Rajendra. The dancing couple’s debut Australian performance proved revelatory of rhythmic and conceptual complexity in which identical movement paradoxically revealed individual qualities. Nirupama clearly led the way with her charm and grace, while Rajendra matched her with his seemingly effortless expertise.  Their kathak and fusion dance segments were a remarkable tribute to the past with visions of the future that were presented with great artistry.  Audiences in both cities were left wanting more.

Nirupama and Rajendra currently head their own Abhinava Dance Company in Bangalore. They nurtured their skills in kathak and choreography under eminent Gurus. Graduating in dance choreography, they have also trained in the expressive elements (abhinaya) from renowned exponents. They travel extensively performing in various parts of the world. Winners of several national and international awards, the duo was awarded the Karnataka Kalashree award recently by the state government (Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy) in Bangalore on April 15. Their performance in Melbourne was hosted by Carnatic Music Circle in association with Melbourne Kannada Sangha.

Preeti Jabbal spoke to the dancers in Melbourne while they were on their way to enjoy the beauty of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.

Preeti Jabbal:You have been quoted as saying that Indian art has a great spirit and content, but it needs better approach and has to be projected at a certain level. Can you elaborate?

Nirupama & Rajendra: In the journey of ‘dance’ we have travelled a lot. We graduated in dance choreography, we learnt how to create a production and we have worked with international choreographers. When we went to UK, we did a lot of educational work. We noticed how westerners focus so much on the presentation of art. Besides the dance itself, they provide attention to every aspect of a production like entry, exit, music, costume and backdrop. Our Indian art form also needs that outlet. Traditionally, most practitioners performed dances like kathak in small sabhas and social events, but now the world is our stage. We believe that traditional art form needs to be presented in such a way that it appeals to the masses. Today’s audience has a limited attention span and we have to be mindful of that while presenting. Ideally we would like our audience to get into the spirit of the dance and this will not reach everyone unless it is repackaged and re-presented. We want to bring in excitement and variety and give a new dimension to classical act.

PJ: You work dance, create, rehearse and live together, what effect does that have on your relationship?

N&R: We introduce ourselves as two bodies and one soul .We are together 24/7 and we have one common love that is dance.  For us it is work-cum-pleasure and we celebrate this togetherness and life. I have known Rajendra for 23 years now and have been married to him for 16 years. There has never been a single dull moment.

PJ: What is your opinion of the numerous dance/reality shows on TV?

N&R: We don’t like reality shows. They initially boost your confidence, but it is such temporary fame. We have also seen many good artists cry after being rejected, which is not good for their morale. I think art should be poured out of inspiration, not competition.

PJ: Is there any type of dance that you don’t like?

N&R: Dancing is an expression of joy, it is the best way to display emotions so I love to watch all dance forms.

PJ: You are young, attractive and popular; would you be interested in acting in movies?

N&R: No, not at the moment. We love the stage and we want to share our energy with a live audience. We have consciously kept away from acting, we have been involved with dancing in documentaries, but we do not intend to enter into any commercial venture at this point of time.

PJ: What is the nicest thing a fan has said to you?

N&R: One of the biggest compliments is when people who don’t know anything about our dance, appreciate our performance. Quite like the Spanish mother and daughter duo who attended our show in Belgium. They came to us, shook our hands and could not speak; they just held our hands and cried. They later told us how inspired and touched they were by our performance.

We also remember performing to a group of Afghans and they asked for an encore. We were to reach Geneva that night for another performance, and we joked that we would repeat our performance only if someone drove us to Geneva, and they did! We danced again despite our fatigue and then were duly driven to Geneva, as promised.

Once a German technician was working with us and she had a fever. After our show finished she told us that she was so charged up by our performance that she was ready to do another show straightaway. Another nice comment came from Amla Shankar, wife of renowned Uday Shankar. She commented that she wasn’t very keen on kathak but after watching us dance made her start loving the dance form.

Appreciation of our dance and technique means much more to us than just getting complimented on the costumes or make up or external beauty.

PJ: Is it hard to strike a balance between commercial and artistic validity?

N&R: It is definitely a challenge. The world is constantly looking for creativity and we are trying to reach out to a larger audience, therefore we need the commerce, sponsors and financial backing to sustain the scale that we work on. We are not Bollywood or temple worshippers; we are performers on a unique path. Our aim is to bring classical dance into the limelight and interpret it in audience-friendly terms. In India art is still struggling for funds in comparison to cricket and sports. There is a huge imbalance. Unlike the West we do not get many grants or funding to promote our art.  We present everything in such a spectacular way that it needs commercial validity therefore we charge a fee, but we also perform for charity and festivals in temples free of cost. We serve society and make money at the same time.

PJ: What is your concept of success?

N&R: If we are happy in our work, if we enjoy the whole process and people who come to watch us go back with a smile, then we consider ourselves to be successful. We do have a dream however, and that is to present our show in the best theatres around the world. We would like to perform in places like Sydney’s Opera House, Vienna’s State Theatre, New York’s Carnegie Hall etc.

Posted via email from Abhinava Dance Company

Australia Dairy

TOUR - MELBOURNE - SYDNEY - CANBERRA

MELBOURNE : 

After having performed in the four continents ...we were pretty excited to share our works & feel the life in this fifth continent - Australia ! Thanks to Natyanjali Australia lead by our dear friend Gayathri Krishnamurthi - an accomplished Bharathanatyam dancer/student of the Dhananjayans.

In principle , we were supposed to be with the sponsors at Sydney but since the Melbourne show came first , we were on the flight to Melbourne.

I was so happy as we were going to the land of the Kangaroos :) 

Outside of the airport as we stepped in to the country ,the very first thing that caught our attention was the trolly on which it was printed - "Depart Satisfied" .

Well...may be the Australians wanted their visitors to feel the words for their trolley services or for the experience of their country , but it came as a beautiful connection to us with deeper aspects of life.

We smiled & moved on ! 

From the time we arrived into Melbourne we were ON OUR TOES through out till we left the city.

We were with this most lovable family in Melbourne, Ramesh Chadaga,his wife Prathima & their beautiful daughter Apeksha. They showed great love ,admiration & took great care for us.

Our performance  at Melbourne was on May 22nd 2011 organised by CMC.

The members of CMC or the audiences at Melbourne (other than couple of few friends),did not really know about us or about our programs.They it seems saw the You tube clips & said YES to organise our program.

Thanks to Technology! Thanks to Ram & Ramesh for the connection.

Even in the initial meetings people were very formal & were not talking as much.We felt a little strange.

But then, we knew our program would melt them & were eagerly waiting for the program.

The program featured some upcoming local young dancers in the first half & second half was us.

While Rajendra was busy with the technical arrangement & i was ironing the costumes in the green room i over heard this conversation between some young dancers & their friends :

" Are u stayin fo the secon half ? ...dunno...

Howsit gonna be ....dunno...

who are these people ....dunno..

then heard an elderly voice telling them...oh,you know it is good to watch others dance...specially if they are from India ....then some voice said ..ok ...but...how much are the tickets...& then organisers were giving them discounts ...etc etc ...& voices were still saying we will see ...dunno & i was thinking...

MY GOD ! WE ARE IN A PLACE WHERE WE ARE TOTAL STRANGERS .... 

In our own land we are so well known, here we are a NOBODY ! 

While we are adored ,appreciated & celebrated in India ,USA & even Europe...this part of the world we were still "dunnos" ....

How does one cope with this ?

While all our lives we are passionately involved in arts , this was a test for dispassion ,

Can one really live it ? 

Something deep inside said TRY IT ....immediately i gathered up my inner self & with a smile continued the work towards the performance.

The performance went on for 90 minutes...

In between our pieces we launched Apeksha Chadaga - a new hope for Kathak in that country who looked gorgeous & also managed to sail gracefully towards the vision of quality dance.

God bless her to continue as she has full potential to do proud to Indian Art & Culture.

Soon after the program ,we were requested to meet the people in the lobby of the theatre.

There were about over 100 people waiting to talk to us .

There were many dancers,some had tears, there were Kannadigas, Bangaloreans ...all of them were simply blessing us, wishing us long life, they told us how much they loved the program,the dancing , music, the introductions, the costumes, lighting.

They were all in Awe of Rajendra for his patient & professional handling of the Sound & lighting at the theatre.

They said we should be featured in the TOP venues of Melbourne...they were overwhelmed by the program.

& we were humbled by the genuine love & affection from the sahrudayas.

It did not stop at that ,the next one week, every evening we were invited for a great dinner by the Indians.

It was the most hectic yet beautiful time of our lives.

Our friends Ramesh & Prathima ,both took one week off from their work & took us around to the most beautiful scenic places around Melbourne.We were driving for hours visiting the Phillip Island, Ballarat, Great Ocean Drive - Twelve Apostles & the beautiful Dandenong Mountain Ranges.

We never ventured into Melbourne city sight seeing.

The Nature around the city & the love of the people of Melbourne brought us close to what the words on the trolley said.

We departed to Sydney the next day ! 

Satisfied ! 

Posted via email from Abhinava Dance Company