Dance Review - Sacred Angkor by Roshni Pillay

Written by Seema Harikumar,  professional Bharathanatyam Dance Artiste with Apsaras Arts Dance Company, Singapore, this review of Sacred Angkor by Roshni Pillay, first appeared in the Apsaras Arts blog on 23rd August.

With Seema's kind permission, we reproduce it here for us to all share in the wonderful description of this production and appreciate Roshni's flawless performance and talent.

Roshni Pillay Kesavan is one of the SIFAS Alumni's senior-most artistes, who in spite of being a full-time professional, still pursues her passion and talent for dance with such distinction.

 

Dance Review - Sacred Angkor by Roshni Pillay

 

 

 Sacred Angkor by Roshni Pillai featuring Neewin Hershall

 

 

Sacred Angkor

 

The grandeur of ancient Cambodia is most beautifully experienced at Angkor Wat, originally named Vrah Vishnulok - the sacred abode of Vishnu. Sacred Angkor brings to life the stories behind the bas-relief carvings at Angkor Wat, through the dramatic Indian classical dance form of Bharathanatyam. Conceptualised by Roshni Pillay Kesavan who performed with Neewin Hershall with vocal accompaniment by U Nandakumar.

 
Performed at the LaSalle College of the Arts, Saturday 4 August 2012, 8pm

 

Review

A majestic yet soothing voice broke the silence in the dark theatre at the LaSalle College of the Arts, which was designed to draw an intimate familiarity between the artistes and the audience. The narrators had begun their tale of Angkor Wat, with some very apt visuals taken from the temple grounds themselves to give the audience a dimension to travel to this sacred place of worship.

 

The story of the Samudra Manthan (Churning of the Milky Ocean) was indeed a choice first item considering that it was the very first item that was presented to the Gods by Bharatha muni to inaugurate his Natyasastra. In respect to Angkor Wat, the magnificence of Vishnu in his koorma avatara could not have been better captured than through its visual representation of this story.

 
The scene had been set for the audience to experience the stories of the Sacred Angkor.

 
Then came the centrepiece of the production- the varnam. The artistes walked into every new light cue with a new sanchari, very effortlessly shifting roles from Rama to Sita, Lakshmana to Soorpanaka, Hanuman to Ravana and so on. Roshni's years of experience and the depth into which she dwelled for 'Baavayaami' showed up through her agility in shedding her previous sanchari role and walking straight into the next with a whole new aangika abhinaya. Neewin very cleverly injected drama into his characterisation of Soorpanaka, leading the audience to experience a moment of hasya as he depicted the various deviant acts of the ill-fated demoness before she got her nose severed by Lakshmana.

 

 

Throughout the production, every single one of the musicians accompanied the artistes competently and added just the right amount of embellishment with subtlety and perfection. The audience was reminded that the pinnacle of the production was drawing near, when vocalist Nandakumar rendered the Amirthavarshini raaga with such beauty and precision that he evoked a thunderous applause which fell like rain in that auditorium.

Our protagonists concluded the rasikas' journey that evening with an upbeat thillana, where we experienced moments of outbursts in energy, immaculate coordination and technical perfection that never fell below par. A very clever interplay between the deft fingers of the mridangist and the nimble-footed dancers swept a murmur of "sabaash" across the audience.

The artistes took their leave from us with a very pensive mangalam in Revathi raaga on the magnificence of Lord Vishnu. The performance had reinstated how rich an artform Bharathanatyam was, without the need for anything gimmicky and kept in its true sacred form, to relay messages that transcend space and time.


As the audience flocked their way to congratulate the artistes and thank them for such an artistic treat, both visual and aural, I could not stop thinking of how aptly Shakespeare had summed up what I thought of this production in two of his very famous lines:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."

The margam that which we saw so beautifully unfold in "Sacred Angkor" would have left just as sweet an aftertaste, if not sweeter, in the audience's mind even if it had gone by any one of Vishnu's names.


- Seema Hari Kumar, Singapore, 2012



Lasya Kavya: The World of Alarmel Valli

Alarmel Valli in Lasya Kavya

Raaga Desh plays on in the background. In the foreground, the camera fades in and out as a dancer is picturised as she dresses for a performance. Muted light throws long shadows across her silk white saree and elegant jewellery. Her painted red hands fold into a lotus gesture. She turns around and her mega-watt smile lights up the screen. The dancer is none other than the eminent danseuse Alarmel Valli and the film is a homage to the brilliant legacy of her dance.

Lasya Kavya: The World of Alarmel Valli featuring the life of Alarmel Valli, was filled with the sophisticated grace that is synonomous with Valli herself. The 78- minute documentary film featured snippets of repertoire interspersed with interview segments from luminaries such as music conductor Zubin Mehta, film maker Arun Khopkar, agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan and musicians Bombay Jayashree and Chitravina Ravikiran. Conceptualised and directed by award-winning director Sankalp Meshram and cinematographer Vivek Shah, the film was a tribute to Valli’s artistry and heritage.

The lighting, angling and the idyllic way the camera framed each shot of Valli resonate with the life and temperament of the artiste herself. The only child born into a wealthy Mudaliar family, she has been singularly fortunate enough to have studied with great Bharathanatyam masters like Pandanallur Chokkalingam Pillai and his son Subbarayan Pillai as well as musical legends Brindha and Muktha, under whom she studied Carnatic vocal music. The biographical details of her life are brought to light with exquisite visuals of her parents’ sprawling bungalow, the casuarina groves which Valli used to
walk in, playing cricket as a child during the weekends at her grandfather’s house and the undulating spaces of nature that seem to be woven throughout her childhood. One is treated to the childlike grace captured in Valli’s arangetram video clip which has only blossomed and matured over the years making it a hallmark of her dance.

If the visuals were exquisite, the music and repertoire clips which were interwoven in the film only add to the onlooker’s joy. The close ups of abhinaya (facial expressions) which are a treasure trove for hardcore rasikas are nuanced and register shades of feeling effortlessly. Whether she is emoting the lines of a varnam, a padam, verses from the Madhurashtakam or depicting the nine emotions of Bhoja’s Shringarapraksha; the ease with which she conveys a myriad moods alternating between each one with practised ease is breathtaking. Challenging the regular boundaries of a traditional margam (repertoire), Valli has also collaborated with poet Arundhati Subramaniam to work on an English poem set to dance. The fluditiy with which she approaches such an item makes one forget that it is an English poem that is being played out and not Sangam literature in which she has carved a niche for herself. Truly dhrishta kaavyam indeed!

The sensibility and exacting standards which she brings to her dance can be seen in the manner in which she interacts with her musicians and nattuvanar. Practice sessions with her orchestra are held at the porch and are interrupted as she firmly but gently explains how a particular piece should unfold while concoting a complicated jathi on the spot.

Her sessions with her pupils from Dipashika, her long solitary walks, inspiration from Western and Eastern literature which would find their way into a new item for choreography, her mother's role in directing her attention towards the ancient Sangam poetry which has now become a part of her dance repertoire; these along with the immense accolades (Padmashri and Padmabushan from the Indian Government, ‘Chevalier des Arts at des Lettres' from the French Government) that her performances have created outside the country, complete the picture of Alarmel Valli for us.

The film helped to shed light on her style of dancing and the inspiration that has gone into much of her creation. Although one was treated to images of her as a student, teacher, performer and choreographer, one was left wondering about her personality, style, origins or personal beliefs which have moulded her into the dancer that she is today.

Music and lyrics are given utmost attention in Alarmel Valli’s dance. She evokes a style wherein the gamakas, swaras, trills and pauses in the music find its corresponding expression within the movements of the body. As quoted by her, “My ideal of dance is one where you can see the music and hear the dance. When I dance, I feel I sing- with my body.”

This was exactly was experienced by the audience in the second half of Lasya Kaavya which showcased a live performance by Alarmel Valli. She began with a special invocation to “Prakriti” based on verses from the Silapadhikkaram, Atharva Veda and Subramaniya Bharathiyar. This piece explored the dual-faced creative energy of the divine, tranquil at times and cataclysmic at other times. Nature was portrayed in various forms; as falling water, forests, peacocks and clouds set against the tempestuous crashing waves of the sea. This depiction of the spiritual, meditative, romantic and life-sustaining was woven through Valli’s excellent nritta and abhinaya. Music by Rajkumar Bharati helped set the mood for the evening.

Valli’s next item, Krishna: The Intimate and Infinite was a tribute to the multi-faceted Lord Krishna. As a toddler imploring his mother Yashoda to bring down the moon for him, to the cowherd boy who has captured the hearts of the gopis to Radha’s lover and Kaaliya’s destroyer; Krishna is at once infinite yet accessible, intimate yet omnipresent. Selecting verses from the Bhagavad Gita, Madhurashtakam, Narayaneeyam and the Yadavaabhyudaya; Valli captured the emotions, inflections and philosophies of each of the verses from these ancient texts, easily alternating from role to role in quick succession.

The evening ended with a Swaralaya in Abhogi Raagam. This brisk piece saw some interesting adavu combinations characteristic of the Pandanallur bani. After some geometric lines, flawless footwork and impeccable kalapramanam, the audience was left wanting for more as the pint sized dancer exited the stage to thunderous applause.

Alarmel Valli was excellently supported by Deepika Varadarajan (Vocal), Jayashri Ramanathan (Nattuvangam), Ranjini Ramakrishnan (Violin) and Lalgudi Ganesh (Mridangam).

Review by: Sangeetha Elango

Review: The Orchestra by the Alumni

What a pleasant surprise to view the impressions and expressions from our "debut" performance. 

Shrimathi Bhushany Kalyanaraman is a senior Artiste from Chennai and was the Guest of Honour at our performance. Ranjani is one of us and was our vice-president in the first ever Alumni Committee.