NatyaSangam, an Indian Classical Dance Academy, presented its inaugural dance recital on Saturday, March 14 th, 2009 in Colorado Springs. The event was attended by over 250 people who anxiously awaited the recital.
The stage was adorned by a Nataraja statue to bless the performance. The recital began with Alaripu, a dance wherein the performers salute God, the Guru (teacher) and the audience. This was performed by the newest students. This was followed by Jatiswara, a musical composition set to a Raga and was a pure dance item.
The enthralled audience was fascinated by the wonderful classical attire and the intricate make-up of the young girls who had obviously practiced a lot for this performance.
The next dance was performed by senior ladies and was called Shabdam and was a tribute to Lord Krishna. The dance required much dexterity and much expression to communicate the essence of the song. The three ladies performed brilliantly.
Next was the turn of the six young teens who had been together as a group for six years. They had just recently earned their “Gungharoo” (ankle bells). To be allowed to wear ankle bells in practices and performances, the girls had to go a rigorous performance recital entailing over one and a half hours of performance called the Salangai Puja. These young girls performed the Tillana flawlessly with much elan and expertise! This was followed by Another Tillana dance in a different raga by two adults.
Keertanam, a bhajan or devotional item ensued extolling the virtues and various attributes of Lord Shiva. Brahma Mokate, another devotional dance dedicated to the Lord Vishnu.
The next dance was Guru Bandana, an item dedicated to the Guru (Sankardeva) and was in the Sattriya style, which has an ancient dance/acting history that was traditionally performed by monks in the monasteries of Assam.
Devaranama, an abhinaya item was next with the lyrics and dance promoting peace and co-existence.
Finally......the moment had arrived! The audience was awaiting the solo dance performance of the teacher, guru, of Natyasangam....Bonmayuri Kalita! She was accompanied by live music performed vocally by Guru Gowri Nandakumar who sang beautifully in the Carnatic music tradition along with Guru Swaminathan Balasubramanian on the mridangam and Aparna Kailasam on the keyboard. The live music really added to the dance presented: Bho Shambo Shiva Shambo. There was pure magic on stage...the lightening, intricate dance movements accompanied by amazingly graphic facial expressions made the dance stand out to all that attended, Even those that were previously just entertained by the previous performers, were transfixed by the sheer artistry and stupendous elegance displayed.
This was Indian classical dance at its very best performed by an artist whose dance pedigree is very impressive and who has won stellar awards and performed at many prestigious arenas all over the world. The crowd got to its feet and applauded vociferously.
Bihu, a traditional Assamese dance was performed by many in the school and brought a different accent to the dance academy.
As is traditional, the recital ended with Mangala, with all of the performers felicitating the audience and paying homage to the Guru, Bonmayuri Kalita.
The audience was treated to a fantastic inaugural dance recital that would received much praise had it been presented even in India. The show was emceed smoothly by a local Indian Community leader, Jay Patel and the technical and sound was arranged by Sourabh Basak, a local talented musician and performer.
Many in the audience commented that the presentation was very professional and the two and half hour recital went by too quickly! Bommayuri has promised that NatyaSangam will have a wider dance variety in next year’s recital, including gypsy dance and more traditional folk dances!
Jay Patel, Colorado Springs, CO
Photos by Roz Otesuka
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