BANGALORE: Seven of the city's most talented young dancers will perform at the Drishti Dance Festival 2006, to be held on Thursday at Chowdiah Memorial Hall.

The Academy of Music and the Drishti Art Foundation are organising the event.

Nirupama Rajendra, who is an experienced Bharatnatya and Kathak dancer, will perform at the event.

She and her husband Rajendran are a well-known Kathak duo. Critics have appreciated Ms. Rajendran's ability to transform traditional dance into a multi-dimensional experience.

Another artist who will take the stage Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is a dancer-turned-model, who is passionate about dance and believes that dance is "visual music and a celebration of human feelings and spirit".

She has a varied Bharatnatya repertoire. Bharatnatya artiste Anuradha is also set to perform at the event. She is co-founder of Drishti, a journal devoted to dance and music that aims to bridge the gap between art, artists and art enthusiasts.

Shama and Sanjay Shantaram are a couple adept at Bharatnatya and Kuchipudi.

Although they have starred in several Kannada television serials, their first love continues to be dance, they say. Together they run the Shivapriya School of Dance.

Drishti will honour three distinguished teachers of classical dance on the occasion.

Guru Narmada is a specialist in the Tanjore style of Bharatnatya and runs Shakuntala Nruthyalaya in Bangalore.

Guru Bhanumathi is founder of the dance group Bharatanjali and the dance institute Nrityakalamandiram. She is committed to encouraging young artists.

Guru Veena Murthy is a famous Kuchipudi exponent and runs the Sri Raja Raheshwari Kala Niketan. She has held workshops and lecture- demonstrations at several universities overseas.

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