The three-day Nakshatra Dance Festival 2023 will be held between October 6 and October 8 at Jamshed Baba Theatre in Mumbai.
For Bharatnatyam exponent Rama Vaidyanathan, compelling storytelling begins with oneself. And so, her production for this year바카라™s Nakshatra dance festival, a Bharatnatyam presentation called 바카라˜Storm Before the Calm바카라™, is all about what a dancer goes through as she or he prepares for the D-day.
"In that sense, it is not your typical Bharatnatyam recital. There is no narrative or sequence in my composition. I think you can say my production stretches the boundaries of the Bharatnatyam tradition," adds Vaidyanathan, who was awarded the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 2013 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2017.
"Although we do have a piece on Nataraja, sort of the done thing in Bharatnatyam, mostly we are exploring the mind of a performer and what she/he goes through to come to the finished product," adds Vaidyanathan.
The three-day Nakshatra Dance Festival 2023 will be held between October 6 and October 8 at Jamshed Baba Theatre in Mumbai.
When Nakshatra festival was put together by the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai, way back in 2009, it was to give a platform for productions that take forward the dance traditions by incorporating the socio-cultural ramifications of the changing times, says Swapnokalpa Dasgupta, head of the NCPA바카라™s dance department, and the curator of the festival.
About six troupes are finalised for the festival every year. "We keep track of various troupes in India and their productions. Sometimes, we ask the troupes to present a specific production from their portfolio. Our choice is usually a mix of sought-after troupes and the upcoming ones to keep the balance as well as to lure the audience," adds Dasgupta.
This year, Dasgupta says she is excited about bringing Rabrindra Nritya to Mumbai.
Purported to be India바카라™s first modern dance and conceptualised by Rabrindranath Tagore, Rabrindra Nritya is not just about dancing for Rabrindra Sangeet, as it is understood often, says Sruti Bandopadhyay, a professor in Manipuri Dance in Visva Bharati Santiniketan, who has also been involved in researching and preserving Rabindra Nritya for decades. She and her troupe will be interpreting Tagore바카라™s 바카라˜Chitraganda바카라™ for the Nakshatra festival.
"The story itself is quite unique. Tagore had picked a character that appears briefly in Mahabharata 바카라“ one of Arjuna바카라™s wives 바카라“ and expanded on her story. 바카라˜Chitrangada바카라™ is thus the story of a warrior woman deeply in love with Arjuna," adds Dasgupta.
Tagore바카라™s 'nritya natya' was inspired by the South East Asian dance traditions and Manipuri dance as well as south Indian ones.
"He had so beautifully put together classical, folk and global influences. Although I have experimented with the form, I have kept the idiom intact. The original costumes and the ornaments visualised by him were unique. It is clear he derived his inspiration from Indonesia. We have tried to follow his ideas in this regard," says Bandopadhyay.
This year, apart from 바카라˜Storm From the Calm바카라™ and 바카라˜Chitrangada바카라™, there is also 바카라˜Shrimanta Yogi', another Bharatnatyam presentation by Vaibhav Arekar & Sankhya Dance Company, 바카라˜Adviteeyam바카라™, an Odissi performance by Ratikant Mohapatra's Srjan, 바카라˜Let It Flow바카라™, a Kathak recital by Anart Foundation & Ishira Parikh & Maulik Shah and 바카라˜Kalyanasougandhikam바카라™, a Kathakali presentation by Margi from Kerala.Â
"We will also have workshops on Rabrindra Nrtiya and Kathak, including sessions on their costumes and jewellery," says Dasgupta.