Giri Samkeerthana Sangamam

Dear friends,

The SIFAS Alumni was officially launched on 13 September 2008 with the election of our first group of office bearers. Over these past 5 years, we have taken great efforts to provide a platform that would enable our members to interact with and learn from one another. It has therefore been our pleasure to observe as our senior and junior members work alongside one another to organise and conduct Alumni events.

The Alumni and its members are regularly involved in organising and performing at SIFAS events such as the annual Academy Day celebrations, SIFAS Music and Dance Festival and Navarathiri. Further to this, we have also been involved in two major Dance productions at the Esplanade; Saptha Sthuthi in March 2010 and Krishna Bharatham in April 2012.

Connecting with you

Details of our past events, including photographs are available on our Facebook Group page and on our Blogsite at www.sifaslalumni.blogspot.com.

Our Next Production

The present Alumni Committee is now eager to launch our Music Wing on a public platform  through an Orchestra based Production entitled Giri Samkeerthana Sangamam ("GSS"). 

This landmark event in our Alumni Calendar is scheduled to take place with the support of the SIFAS management, on 20 April 2013, Saturday at the University Culture Centre between 7 and 9 pm. 

The original compositions for the production have been created by our SIFAS tutors and the performers are a group of of past and existing SIFAS students who are now members of the SIFAS Alumni. Further details on the performers, the composers and the key persons behind this production are available on our Production Website (link). 

Navarathri Festival 2012 - October 20th, 7-9pm

Yesss, 20th October is this Saturday! We are as excited as you since that means this year's Alumni Navarathri performance is only 4 days away :)

Do come down to the SIFAS Auditorium on the 20th evening for a very special show organised and brought to you by the talented Alumni. Full details as follows:

Svam - My Own

On November 4th, come prepared for a memorable night of dance and discovery…. Alumnus Anuja Varaprasad brings to us -

Svam – my own

A personal and philosophical interpretation of a sacred and spiritual art form

Sunday, 4 November, 7.30pm, NUS University Cultural Centre

You dance inside my chest where no one sees you

but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes art.

- Rumi

Bharathanatyam has a codified structure and vocabulary, but the deeply spiritual and experiential nature of this vocabulary means that the dance form will resonate differently within each individual dancer. Each story is intrinsically personal, and Svam, which means belonging to me, or my own in Sanskrit, is one dancer’s attempt to put form to her own story. It is said that one can find in and through dance whatever one seeks deep within, and Svam endeavours to convey this dancer’s metaphysical search through music and movement.

Svam is an interpretation of dance as a personal philosophy, a subjective external depiction that this structured, sacred and spiritual form is bigger than the dancer and life itself. The production explores intangible concepts of perfection, worship, love, oneness and peace that are so intertwined with the tangible, physical art form. 

The music for this Bharathanatyam presentation has been specially composed by P.Sushanth, which is complemented by Shyamjith Kiran's insightful choreography. 

. . .

About the choreographer:

Shyamjithkiran is a young and vibrant Bharatanatyam artist from Kasargod, Kerala. He completed his three-year diploma course in Bharatanatyam Bhaskara, an institution founded by Guru V.P. Dhananjayan. He completed his diploma and post diploma in Bharatanatyam from the Kalakshetra Foundation securing a first class in both courses, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in History and a Masters degree in Sociology. He has been actively part of the Kalakshetra dance repertory, performing Bharatanatyam as well as Kathakali since 2004. His choreography for ‘Mudivil Oru Aarambam’, based on the present situation of dancers, has won critical acclaim. His recent work ‘Pareekshana’ brings a fresh approach to the usual orchestral accompaniment with the inclusion of a string section including violins, violas and cellos in addition to the traditional orchestra. Shyamjithkiran is presently working at the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society as a member of the dance faculty and also performs and choreographs for the Society.

About the composer:

P. Susanth has a Diploma in classical music from the Kalakshetra Foundation. He also has a First Class certificate in Higher Indian Music from the Government of Tamil Nadu. Endowed with a meticulous voice, Mr. Sushanth is a very experienced vocalist for dance concerts and has been a regular performer for several arangetrams, and Bharatha Natyam programmes over the last 8 years in India and Malaysia. Mr. Susanth has been a vocal tutor with SIFAS since February 2010.

About the dancer:

Anuja Varaprasad has been learning Bharathanatyam since the age of six, and has been a student of the Singapore Indian Finer Arts Society (SIFAS) since 1994. Under the tutelage of Smt Sitaravamma Sandrasegaran and Sri V Balagurunathan, she completed the offered 8-year diploma course, and was awarded the 'Natyavisharad' for outstanding performance in both theory and practical examinations. She completed her Arangetram in 2006 and has performed in numerous dance dramas and solo productions in Singapore and India. Anuja continues her training with SIFAS, under Sanjit Lal, a graduate of Kalakshetra. She views Bharathanatyam as an intellectual and spiritual exercise and hopes to pursue a Masters in South Asian Studies one day.

Sai Akileshwar's Farewell Concert 4 Aug 2012

Our dear friend, Akilesh will be pursuing his further studies in Chennai soon. He has been an instrumental member of the Alumni and while we are sad to see him go, we share in his excitement and encourage him to develop his musical interests further.

For those of you who do not know Akilesh personally, you may recall his interview (see from learning to teaching and back). We look forward to seeing you at his farewell concert this coming Saturday.

warmest regards,
SIFAS ALUMNI Committee 2011

Sacred AngKor by Dr Roshni Pillay

Dear Alumni,

We are pleased to inform you about our alumnus, Dr Roshni Pillay's upcoming performance on 4 August 2012 at 8pm. She is one of our senior most dancers and is well established in the local arts circle. Personally, I have always found it to be a delight to attend her performances.

The SIFAS Alumni was first formed in 2008. In 2010, the dance wing of the Alumni staged a performance at the Esplanade. Dr Roshni was amongst the group of 16 dancers who took part in that landmark event.I had the pleasure to work closely with her during this performance and now look forward to attending her upcoming performance.

We hope that you too will come to support Dr Roshni.


warmest regards,

Dharini Kasinathan