The senior dance guru and her pupil Bragha Bessell and Navia Natarajan confirmed how a chunk will be interpreted successfully by way of abhinaya
The senior dance guru and her pupil confirmed how a chunk will be interpreted successfully by way of abhinaya
How does a dancer react to presenting a solo artwork as a duo efficiency? Bragha Bessell and Navia Natarajan walked on eggshells whereas assembly the problem with sensitivity. It was an abhinaya-dominated present, Bragha’s forte. There was a finesse in alternating function play, as they provided the Bhramaramba Ashtakam as an invocation. The goddess Durga in Srisailam is so named as a result of she launched 1000’s of bees from her physique to kill demon Arunasura. The music in ragamalika, talamalika by D. Srivatsa, was mushy and soothing equivalent to the unhurried tempo of the quick nritta swaras.
Thought-provoking and expressive
Bragha’s thought-provoking abhinaya, extra by way of the eyes, contrasted with Navia’s energy-infused, expressive abhinaya. The dancers added one other character, on this case a lady, to inform her aspect of the story in ‘Ososi’ (Mukhari, mishra chapu, Muthu Thandavar). Bragha sits detached to her nayaka’s accusations in shadow, coming ahead to recall the happier occasions in a deftly woven musical interlude. She speaks of an harm to his head, that she tended to, ending on a observe of intrigue. What occurred within the interim to their relationship? Was this a reminiscence loss? Or did somebody affect him about her? A situational reference had instantly changed into a plausible, attention-grabbing storyline.
Bragha Bessell and Navia Natarajan.
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association
A dialog between Rukmini and Parvathi highlighting the absurdities of Shiva and Vishnu offered a lighter observe and an animated function play. The Purandaradasar Devarnama was a Ninda Stuthi tuned in Bilahari raga, Adi (tisra gati) by vocalist Nandini Anand Sharma.
Nandini was supported by Eashwar Ramakrishnan (violin), Ananthashree (nattuvangam) and Vedakrishnaram (mridangam). It was a group that emphasised softness and musicality.
Bragha Bessell and Navia Natarajan.
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association
The dancers carried out on-line for the third instalment of Natyavamsham, a teacher-student themed sequence curated by Rama Vaidyanathan and hosted by Gayatri Subramanian, and the Guru G.V. Ramani Natya Kala Basis in celebration of 10 years of the muse’s annual Margazhi pageant. Natyavamsham stands for legacy, transference and sharing, so the teacher-disciple duo mentioned the topic in between the choices.
Bragha’s retelling of guru Kalanidhi Narayanan’s abhinaya educating made for a compelling hear — her understanding of the lyrics, her emphasis on unravelling the feelings to be explored. Guru Kalanidhi was additionally explicit about focussing on the opposite characters across the protagonist, in order that the scene could possibly be introduced alive. Bragha highlighted her guru’s sense of aesthetics that was marked by subtlety — utilizing simply the eyes for precision in characterisation.
Bragha Bessell and Navia Natarajan throughout the third version of Natyavamsham sequence, 2022.
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association
Transference meant imbibing, and including life’s experiences to the interpretations. Sharing was within the time taken by her guru to show a chunk, so the scholar may take in and absorb the training.
Navia felt that the legacy included life experiences and philosophy of the instructor that formed her. Transference meant the lyrics, which means, approach, character, and many others., and in addition the power switch that takes place alongside. She equated sharing to sluggish cooking, the place the method issues as a lot because the technicalities.
The Chennai-based author evaluations classical dance.