Pravaha- a moving human experience

By Renuka Vaidyanathan

The girls with their Guru Sheejith Krishna, Photo credit: Lijesh Karunakaran

Pravaha dancers, Photo credit: Lijesh Karunakaran

An original dance theatre production by SIFAS students and alumni, choreographed by Sheejith Krishna,  ‘Pravaha’ will celebrate the dance of water, the journey of cloud, rain and river,  the flow of creative imagination set free, the dance of the human spirit at one with nature…

The production Pravaha will be inspired by the rich lyricism of classical poetry on the iconic Ganga (the river Ganges), Kalidasa’s ‘Meghadutam’ and other traditional and modern stories on cloud, rain and river.  It will trace the journey of water from the origin of life in the Cosmos to the appearance of first humans on the planet. It will then highlight through the story of water, how human response to nature has evolved over millennia, finding expression in mythology and sacred/secular art.  Pravaha will unfold a journey of confluence and birth, connection and balance, division and destruction, rebirth and rejuvenation.  Emphasising the interconnectedness of all living things, the production would showcase, through the lovely medium of Bharatanatyam, human kind’s greatest challenge today- saving our fresh water rivers and lakes and preserving and protecting our environment.

Pravaha is not just a dance production for its dancers but a moving human experience as well.  It has been a very poignant learning process for the dancers involved in the production.  They range in age from 16 to 30: some are students; some are working women; some are mothers even.  They juggle their various responsibilities while being a part of this production.

Working with Sheejith Krishna has been an intensely moving experience for these dancers as he teaches them values, in addition to dance. They learn to be better human beings, in the process.  Sheejith Krishna says, "If you want to be a good dancer, be a good human being first and a good artist next.  Cultivate a good eye for everything around you, in life and in art.  Sharpen your sense of aesthetics: texture, colour, light, shade, sound, smell, taste, your sense of the whole.  Absorb everything around you. If you have that eye, that vision, if you lose yourself in the appreciation of the greater whole, your dance will shine”.  As the dancers practice vigorously and imbibe life lessons, here is a small glimpse of the rehearsal sessions which are so full of energy and infectious enthusiasm that even non-dancers feel like joining the dancers in their practice. The production promises to be much more than just a dance, but a journey through life’s stages! 

Come, feel the flow with us.  On April 11, at 8 pm at the Esplanade theatre.

The Pravaha dancers:

Meera and Jaya

Renisha and Preethi

Charline and Dhriti

Sambhavi and Shivani

Dhanya and Aarthi

Lavanya and Sruti

Photo credit: Renuka Vaidyanathan

Aarthi Devarajan

Aarthi Devarajan is a Bharatanatyam alumnus of SIFAS and has been learning for the past 12 years. In her first few years, she was under the tutelage of Guru V Balagurunathan. During her senior years, she blossomed under the able guidance of Guru Saroopa Das and completed her arangetram in Chennai in 2009. She then went on to learn the intricacies of the art from Guru Roopika Julian and with her able guidance, Aarthi completed her final year in the diploma course in 2011 and was blessed with the title of ‘Natya Visharadh’. She has been performing widely since 2008 in both Singapore and India. Aarthi is a student of architecture at SUTD, Singapore.

Charline Marzin

Charline has been practicing Bharatanatyam for the past 10 years, initially falling in love with this art form after watching a performance in Paris, France. She is currently under the tutelage of guru Sanjit Lal in SIFAS, and is also the disciple of Smt Shyamala Surendran from Dharani School of Performing Arts, Cochin, India, and Smt Shakuntala in Exeter, UK, and was also a disciple of Smt Minal Prabhu during her years in Bangalore in 2004-2005. She performed her arangetram in the UK in July 2012, and previously performed multiple solo performances in Cochin, India and Paris, France. Charline, a French national and mother of a 4-year old, works as a climatologist in Singapore.

Dhanya Menon

Dhanya has been learning Bharatanatyam in SIFAS since she was 9 years old. She has performed in various temples and auditoriums for functions island wide and internationally, including the Esplanade in Singapore, Sutra theatre in Malaysia, the Madras University and the Varasiddhi Vinayaga Temple in Chennai. Dhanya has represented her school at the Indian Embassy for the Independence Day gathering; she also performed in the august presence of the erstwhile President of India, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam. She completed her diploma in Bharatanatyam at SIFAS in 2013 and had her arangetram at UCC, NUS, Singapore in July 2013.

She has also participated in cultural programs during Indian festivals. Besides dance, she is interested in playing the drums. She is also aiming to attain a higher level in French at Alliance Francaise, Singapore.. Dhanya is currently a 3rd year Advertising student in the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

Dhriti Vaidyanathan

Dhriti Vaidyanathan, is an emerging Bharatanatyam artiste from Singapore. Dhriti, who has been dancing for over 14 years,  did her training under the Kalakshetra tradition at Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society(SIFAS),  under the tutelage of Guru Minal Merai. Dhriti completed her diploma in Bharatanatyam in June 2008 and was awarded the title of ‘Natya Visharadh’ by SIFAS.  

Dhriti did her Arangetram in Chennai, India in 2006 and has since performed solo recitals in Singapore, India, Indonesia, USA and UK. She was recently selected by the Music Academy, Chennai to perform in The Spirit of Youth festival in Chennai. She is currently under the tutelage of senior Guru Roja Kannan who is a senior disciple of Guru Padmashri Adyar K Lakshman.   She has performed regularly in the Chennai Marghazhi season as well as in the SIFAS festival in the past. She was a part of the ensemble production Krishna Bharatham choreographed by Guru Sheejith Krishna for the SIFAS festival in 2012.  She is a graduate of the University of the Arts, London and works with Singtel Digital Media in Singapore.

Jayaletchmi

Jayaletchmi began learning Bharatanatyam at the tender age of three. Initially taught by the late Guru Shilpa Chandran, she then learnt from Guru Saroopa Das and Guru Roopika Julian. Having attained her Diploma last year, she is currently under the tutelage of Guru Ramya.

Bharatanatyam has formed a large part of Jaya’s schooling years. She was a member of the Raffles Institution Indian Dance troupe that participated in the Singapore Youth Festival in 2011 in which her team clinched the Gold with Honours award, and was also the leader of the Indian Dance group in Cedar Girls’ Secondary School. Jayaletchmi is studying law at NUS, Singapore.

Lavanya Rengarajan

Lavanya Rengarajan, is currently under the tutelage of Guru Ramya in the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society. Lavanya was awarded the best student award in her 5th year dance examinations. She has also received training from Guru Seetharama Sharma, Guru Shilpa Chandran, Guru Saroopa Das , Guru Roopika Julian and now continues her passion under the expertise and guidance of Guru Ramya.

She has performed in numerous dance programmes such as the SIFAS Academy Day, the SIFAS Festival of Music and Dance in 2008, and also in temple Kumbhabhishegams, Navaratri Festivals, Vasantham TV shows, and other community programmes. 

Dance has provided her with the platform to exhibit her talents and expand her potentials, while having taught her the essential life lessons of discipline, resilience and humility. 

Lavanya has completed her Diploma in Computer Engineering in Singapore Polytechnic and her passion for dance is further exhibited through her participation in her school's annual musical, 'Samarpanam', various semi-classical dance performances in school events and many Community Art programmes.

Lavanya is a business student at SIM, Singapore.

Meera Balasubramanian 

Meeera trained in India under Mrs.Ranganayaki Jayaraman and later under Mrs.Prabha Kini in Bangalore. She joined SIFAS in the year 2009 under Guru Roopika Julian and is currently training under Guru Sanjit Lal. She has performed in various temples during Shivarathri and Navarathri festivals and Corporate shows.  She  recently had her Arangetram performance in Chennai Music under the able guidance of Ms. Roopika Julian and Kalakshetra Shri Hari Padman.

She has also trained in Carnatic music for more than 15 years.

She is a  Banking Graduate from the Madras University and also has a diploma in computers and used to work as a software engineer. She is a mother of twin children and teaches dance.

 Preethi Devarajan

Preethi Devarajan holds a diploma in Bharatanatyam from SIFAS. She is currently under the tutelage of Guru Sanjit Lal. Preethi was part of the Cedar Girls Secondary School Indian Dance team which won the Silver Award in the Singapore Youth Festival 2011. She is also a regular performer at the Community Life Arts Programme (CLAP) that is organized by Central CDC. Preethi has also been performing in Singapore at temple Kumbhabhishegams and Navarathri festivals. In 2011, during the December season, Preethi had her maiden performance in India at the Hamsadhwani NRI Festival. In December 2012, Preethi completed her Arangetram in Chennai. Preethi has also performed in the SIFAS Festival 2012 and 2013. Preethi is a secondary school student.

Renisha Paul Mukkam

Renisha completed her 8th year in 2012 under the tutelage of Guru Shyamjith Kiran. She was previously a student of Sri V Balagurunathan. In the 2012 Music and Dance Festival, she performed in Krishna Bharatham, a production by Sri Sheejith Krishna, and staged a solo performance at the SIFAS auditorium. She was also one of 2 guest performers from SIFAS to perform at Sangamam, a Vasantham production, at the Esplanade. She is also a 6th year Veena student of Guru Meenakshi Somasundaram. Renisha was also Chairperson of the Raffles Girls’ School and Raffles Junior College Indian Dance teams. Renisha is interning at PWC while waiting to attend University.

Sambhavi Rajangam

Sambhavi Rajangam commenced her Bharatanatyam training in SIFAS, under the tutelage of Smt Minal Merai at the age of five. Her guru's dedicated guidance enabled Sambhavi to receive the "Best Student Award"  for her performance in her 5th year Bharatanatyam examination. She then went on to complete her diploma in Bharathanatyam through SIFAS, under the able guidance of Guru Roopika Julian and secured the ‘Natya Visharadh’ title award in recognition of her outstanding performance. She has given solo performances in both the SIFAS and Chennai Festival of Music and Dance and she has had the honour of performing at Afro Asian Philosophical Conferences held in Mumbai and Chidambaram. Sambhavi has performed widely in Singapore during various occasions such as the SIFAS Academy day celebrations and navarathri performances. She was an ambassador of Singapore during International Indian Fine Arts –Nadasangamam, a dance emsemble held in Chennai in the years 2007 and 2008. Sambhavi is a secondary school student.

Shivani Rajaraman

Shivani Rajaraman  has been learning Bharatanatyam since the age of 7. She was first initiated into this art form through Guru Sitaravamma Sandrasegaran. After which, she continued her learning under various teachers, Guru Maalika Girish Panicker, Guru Sunitha Nair and Guru Swarna Iyer. In 2012, under the tutelage of Guru Roopika Julian, Shivani finished her eighth year, graduating with the title award of ‘Natya Visharadh’. She is currently learning under Guru Ramya. Shivani has regularly performed in temples during Navaratri and also in numerous SIFAS Academy Day productions. She has also performed in the 2009 Indian Music and Dance festival in Chennai and in the SIFAS Music and Dance Festival in the years 2010 and 2013. In 2012, she was part of the Salangai Oli winning team, a dance competition on Vasantham. In addition, Shivani was an active member of her alma mater, Raffles Institution's Indian Dance team that won the Gold with Honours award for SYF in 2011. Shivani has also learnt Carnatic Vocal and has completed her 6th year. She is currently a medical student at NUS, Singapore.

Sruti Rao

Sruti Rao has been learning Bharatanatyam for the past 15 years, and is currently under the guidance of Guru Sanjit Lal at SIFAS. She completed her Bharatanatyam arangetram in 2006 under the guidance of Guru Sitaravamma Sandrasegaran and thereafter performed regularly in Singapore and India. Sruti has performed in numerous dance productions, including the recent ‘Glimpses of Angkor’ and Angkor- The Untold Story by Apsaras Arts, as well as the SIFAS Alumni Production 2012 ‘Krishna Bharatham’ choreographed by Sri Sheejith Krishna. Also a trained Carnatic vocalist, she hopes to continuously evolve in her learning journey through the arts. Sruti works as a financial journalist in Singapore.

Pravaha- a moving human experience

Charline Marzin and Sruti Rao, two of the Pravaha dancers speak about their Pravaha experience.

Video credit: Renuka Vaidyanathan

A Musician’s Diary: Notes and Notations from the Carnatic Repertoire

Sushma Somasekharan- musician

Akshay Anantapadmanabhan- percussionist

V R Devika- story teller

The SIFAS festival begins on March 28, 2014 at the SIFAS auditorium with a unique and exciting presentation by Aalaap- A Musician’s Diary: Notes and Notations from the Carnatic Repertoire.

Aalaap, a performing arts’ initiative based in Chennai, India, is proud to present A Musician’s Diary: Notes and Notations from the Carnatic Repertoire, at the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society, on March 28. 2014. An experimental production that attempts to seamlessly blend a storyteller’s compelling narratives and a musician’s enchanting and evocative melodies and rhythms, Aalaap’s brainchild is a constantly evolving bridge between different spaces – storytelling, theatre, music and dance – within the performing arts.

A Musician’s Diary: Notes and Notations from the Carnatic Repertoire is a 90-minute performance act featuring engaging and inspirational anecdotes from the lives of India’s most famous Carnatic musicians and composers.

Our artistes – VR Devika (storyteller) and Sushma Somasekaran (musician), with Akshay Ananthapadmanaban (percussionist) – will paint pictures from the lives of legendary figures like MS Subbulakshmi, Lalgudi G Jayaraman and DK Pattamal, just to name a few, and re-create those memories with songs and compositions that, over the ages, have come to define their life and body of work.

About Aalaap:

Aalaap is an initiative in the performing arts. Sometimes, it works on its own, as an independent entity. Other times, Aalaap dresses up as a collaborator and attempts to work with performing artistes from across India, and assist them in the many aspects of the arts, its production, promotion and presentation. Designed as an artiste-centric initiative that is sensitive to the style and sensibilities that qualify and constitute every artiste, Aalaap’s focus areas include ideation, curation, execution, content creation, research, management and promotion. Under this umbrella, Aalaap also publishes a high-end, bi-monthly performing arts magazine by the same name. It is has launched six thematic editions at unique and one-of-a-kind launch events.

About the artistes:

VR Devika: The founder and managing trustee of The Aseema Trust, a non-profit organisation, VR Devika is a well-known Chennai-based cultural activist, who has a passion for performing arts and education. She is here today with us, in her capacity as a fine, knowledgeable and articulate storyteller.

Sushma Somasekharan: A new voice within the Carnatic vocal tradition, Sushma’s voice embodies talent, intellect and emotion. Born and raised in Singapore, Sushma has made Chennai her home and here she learns, performs and practices.

Akshay Ananthapadmanaban: A percussionist who plays the mridangam and the kanjeera, Akshay is involved with several collaborative efforts across different genres of music, exerting his considerable skill and passion for music every time.

Sheejith Krishna speaks about Pravaha

Video credit: Renuka Vaidyanathan

SIFAS Festival of Indian Classical Music & Dance 2014

Bharatanatyam- from Temple to Theatre

Malavika Sarukkai

Rama Vaidyanathan

Urmila Sathyanarayanan

Alarmel Valli

SIFAS dancers in Krishna Bharatham

Bharatanatyam is one of the most cherished and popular of classical Indian dance-forms.  It is popular not only in India but also outside it. It is often considered the epitome of Indian cultural expression. Today it occupies the same niche in the East, as ballet occupies in the West. It is a highly revered art form, performed on concert stage. The dance is said to be based on the Natya Shastra, a treatise believed to have been written by sage Bharata between 500BC and 500 AD. Its grammar and aesthetics are today traced by many to this treatise and to later works like Abhinaya Darpana.

Themes are sacred and secular; myriad stories and situations are depicted and it can take the form of a solo or group presentation. It was not always performed on stage. It originated as a solo dance form Sadir or Dasiattam, which was performed in temples and courts in South India as ritual dance. Like all Indian performing arts, Bharatanatyam too traces its origin to religion. Hereditary practitioners, many of whom were supported by temples in South India, originally practiced it. Until the 1920s this dance was the preserve of devadasis or temple dancers. However, during the British rule of India, this dance form fell into some disrepute, which led to the abolition of the institution of devadasis, who were deemed immoral by the British. The devadasi's role in secular society was questioned, as she was perceived not as an artist but as a courtesan.

As a temple dance, the purpose of Sadir or Dasiattam was to give symbolic expression to religious concepts. Devotion or Bhakti was the dominant mood of the dance and it was portrayed through the medium of love or Sringara. The Supreme God took on the form of a lover so that the devotee could gain access to the sacred through expression of love or Sringara, which was the motif of most solo dances in those days. These concepts permeated the lyrics of most of the songs in those days.

After the 1920s the dance form slowly underwent a subtle transformation and re-emerged as a secular form performed on stage by non-hereditary dancers. Educated elite, including E Krishna Iyer, a lawyer and Rukmini Devi, a theosophist spearheaded this revival and the dance form slowly passed from the purview of traditional families into the hands of the educated. Many changes were brought into the presentation as a result of this transition, including a new name, Bharatanatyam. Dasiattam, which was an esoteric temple dance, metamorphosed into Bharatanatyam, an artistic presentation performed on stage.

Though the form still remains rooted in tradition, it flourishes in the modern milieu because it is immensely suited to adaptation on stage. It has accommodated itself very well to new themes, and to the demands of the modern world. New themes, new techniques and new methods of staging have enabled the dance to make this transition from temple to stage in a smooth manner. Rukmini Devi who was instrumental in starting Kalakshetra, was a pioneer in this movement from temple to stage.

As Bharatanatymam moved from the temple to the stage, some of the older themes were deemed as archaic and irrelevant to the modern times, especially its predominant nayika-nayaka theme which was considered somewhat out of tune with current secular practices. As with any art form, what has prevailed today is a mix of the old and new. While traditional repertoires called Margams centred around the nayika-nayaka theme with Sringara (love) as the leitmotif are still performed by solo artistes, and are considered most suited to unfold the major dimensions of the dance form, many newer themes are being performed on stage today to much critical acclaim.

While the traditional format has thrived, many solo and group productions have turned to the vast repository of literature available in India, including the Ramayana and Mahabharata to mount productions not based on the Margam format. Many artistes have delved even further and interpreted these classics in their own creative ways and have come up with several abstract productions.  Rukmini Devi was one such icon- she was a pioneer of group productions. Her greatest contribution to Kalakshetra and to Bharatanatyam is her production and staging of dance dramas.  She invited several great musicians to Kalakshetra to guide her in this process.  These dance dramas were meticulously researched and exquisitely mounted ensemble pieces, originally choreographed by Rukmini Devi herself.  Beginning with Kuttrala Kuravanji and Kalidasa’s Kumara Sambhavam, she went on to create many master-pieces, including the six-part Ramayana series. These dance dramas gave Bharatanatyam a hitherto unseen dimension.

In addition to the ever-popular original dance dramas, Kalakshetra also encouraged its faculty and alumni to experiment in newer themes.  Sheejith Krishna, an alumnus and erstwhile faculty member of Kalakshetra pioneered several such thematic productions, which were both contemporary and abstract in theme, while following the classical idiom. Pravaha, which will be showcased by SIFAS* at Esplanade is one such endeavour. It will showcase the journey of rain, river and cloud through stories both sacred and secular, through the medium of Bharatanatyam.

We can see that Bharatanatyam has not remained frozen but evolved over time. The technique and vocabulary of this dance-form can indeed be used to depict a variety of themes and artistic concepts. Many practitioners, through their imaginative and creative interpretations, have given a new momentum to the traditional repertoire, and enhanced the value of this art form;  many others have added to the treasure trove by exploring new aspects, prompted not only by their own artistic perceptions, but also by such factors as changes in the audience mix,  changes in the performing milieu and societal context. Creative choreographers and dancers have used this dance form in recent times to present many abstract ideas like nationalism, feminine power (Shakti) and the sanctity of the environment. Thus, the dance-form has been anything but static in regard to its repertoire; indeed, it has shown a remarkable capacity for absorbing innovations

Bharatanatyam, in conclusion, can be said to be a dance of India, that encompasses the past, the present and the future within its fold.   Pravaha which will trace the journey of rain, river and cloud through stories sacred and secular, is one such effort and we are sure it will resonate well with the audiences.

* SIFAS has been showcasing Bharatanatyam dancers in recitals, both at the SIFAS auditorium and in other venues for several years.  The dancers who are pictured above have performed in the SIFAS festival of Classical music & dance over the years.

By Renuka Vaidyanathan

Pravaha- a viewpoint by Alarmel Valli

Video credit: Renuka Vaidyanathan