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Dubai girls perform debut classical dance

Dancers have been training in Bharatanatyam for six years

By Nagarjuna Rao, Pages Editor
Published: 14:38 February 3, 2013

Image Credit: Nagarjuna Rao/Gulf News
Shravani Mangu, Sharon Richu Shaji, Pooja Anil and Reshma Girish perform during a three-hour concert, presenting seven items from their repertoire.

Four Dubai girls, who have been training in Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form, presented their arangetram (debut performance) on Friday at JSS Private School.

Arangetram, which means ascending the stage in Tamil, provides an opportunity for a student to display skills acquired over six years of training.

Shravani Mangu, Sharon Richu Shaji, Pooja Anil and Reshma Girish demonstrated their art during a three-hour concert, presenting seven items from their repertoire and was choreographed by their guru (teacher) Padmapriya Prakash.

The budding artists began the evening with Pushpanjali (floral tribute) to their guru, God and the audience, followed by a solo performance. Shravani Mangu, a Grade 8 pupil, presented Pranavaakaaram, an invocation to Ganesha.

The next item was Varnam, the centrepiece of a Bharatnatyam recital, where the girls present an ensemble enacting the episodes of devotion to Shiva.

Pooja, who had the opportunity to perform alongside Indian actress and dancer Sudha Chandran as part of the Mudra dance competition, performed Maadu Meikkum Kaane, which is a dialogue between little Krishna and his mother Yashoda where she tries in vain to stop the mischievous boy from going out to play and tend to cattle with the lure of his favourite food, and also scaring him about being attacked by wild animals and thieves.

Reshma, who also has been learning Carnatic music, rendered Shiva Stuthi in a tandav dance form; Sharan presented Ganaringaram where a lovelorn lass chooses a bee as her messenger to convey her feelings to her beloved.

For the finale, all four girls combined their skills for the energetic Thillana, a rhythmic piece, which is generally performed at the end of a performance.

As a token of appreciation for their accomplishment, guru Padmapriya blessed them with Natya Thilakam title.

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