Joy of dancing

``SWAGATHAM KRISHNA'', a multi disciplinary dance extravaganza was presented by Anita Guha and her students for Indian Fine Arts Society on December 27. The dance-drama on the life of Krishna was marked by the joy of dancing that every member of the group felt and communicated to the audience. There was a succession of events of Krishna Leela presented in a continuous movement that did not stop even when the lights went off for a short while. Young children had a rare sense of dignity and respect for the stage and their entries and exits were seamless and very professional. Kudos to Anita Guha who has trained so many children who have such good sense of the stage.

The erect backs of the dancers, the clean limb movements, the clear mudras and the maintenance of a balance of deportment marked by joy and dignity and ecstatic vigour was a marvel in this dance drama. The sense of fun and frolic in the dancers while maintaining the angasudda was a treat.

The dance had a medley of Bharathanatyam, a bit of Mohiniyattom and Kathak and took lyrics from Bhagavatham, Krishna Karnamritham and Otthukkadu. The tempo was in a fast pace right from the beginning. The dancers knew exactly what they had to do. Anita Guha handled all the signing and Nattuvangam, even providing the sound effects for the snake dance. She was assisted by J. Padmanabhan on the mridangam, Muruganandam on the violin, Prakash on the flute and Akash on the keyboard. Music composition was by Anita Guha and her teacher Meenakshi.

There were five or six Krishnas in different age groups starting with a six-year old who was as confident as Madhumati, the oldest Krishna, who with Aishwarya as Radha, took the dance to a much higher level. The two were mature dancers very confident of their Nritta, their tala and lived the role. Aishwarya provided pure emotion as the angry and hurt Radha in the manner of an experienced dancer.

There was also screening of clouds and the river parting to enable Vasudeva to carry baby Krishna across. A very clear idea was the use of shadow for the dying scene of Poothana. The dancers kept up split second timing in perfect rhythmic synchronisation. In the scene of Krishna teasing the gopikas, the Kalinga Nartana, the stealing of clothes scenes, a tremendous impression of sound, colour and rhythm were created with the climax of the dance being reached with Kolattam.

This was a refreshing performance that gave much relief in the middle of the heavy music season. The dancing made no pretensions and the group made full use of space, colour, pep and that immensely appealed to the audience. The remarkable handling of rhythm, body of technique, posture and above all, a physical exuberance with an infectious joy for dance delighted them.

V. R. DEVIKA

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