Date:27/10/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/10/27/stories/2006102708460200.htm

New Delhi

Upholding a tradition with grace and skill

PICTURE OF ELEGANCE: Bharatanatyam danseuse Priyadarsini Govind will perform in New Delhi today.

She was instructed by two well-known gurus in the Bharatanatyam tradition. And now one of the best exponents of the dance form from Chennai, Priyadarsini Govind is all set to perform Bharatanatyam at India International Centre in New Delhi this Friday.

Priyadarsini honed her dancing skills under the tutelage of eminent gurus Swamimalai K. Rajaratnam Pillai and Kalanidhi Narayanan. "Kalanidhi Narayanan drew me into the world of dance," says Priyadarsini. "Her style is to develop your imagination and react to the poetry. The variations are like thoughts in our mind, very nebulous. You catch it now, the next moment it is gone." Looking back on her journey so far, Priyadarsini says: "This is all a part of growing up. It is an extra-curricular activity. My teacher would just allow the student to take it in naturally, and then give corrections that make it more aesthetically pleasing."

She has performed on significant domestic and international platforms including Khajuraho, Nrityagram, the Chennai music and dance season programmes, India International Centre and India Habitat Centre in Delhi, Festival of India in Paris, Montpellier in France, Theatre de la Vill in Paris, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in London, World Music Institute in New York and Smithsonian in Washington D.C. -- Madhur Tankha

-- Madhur Tankha