This last Saturday, the thriving scene of Bharathanatyam in New England was elevated to new heights . Shri. Madurai. R. Muralidharan, a well accomplished dancer-cum-choreographer-cum-musicologist-cum-composer-poet-cum..., overwhelmed the seasoned Bharathanatyam audience of New England by radically redefining the standards of creativity, grandiosity and technicality for Bharathanatyam Classical Dance Ballet productions, at least here in the New England area, if not all over the US, with 'Krishna - A Ballet'.
About 20+ senior dancers and dance teachers from the Boston area made this ballet production possible: Jeyanthi Ghatraju, Mangai Gopalan, Hema Iyengar, Sharayu Mahale, Ananya Mahalingam Dhingra, Abirami Manian, Sujatha Meyappan, Pallavi Nagesha, Anirudh Nagesha, Ira Padhye, Amudha Pazhanisamy, Vyjayanthi Prasad, Sangita Raghunathan, Harini Rajashekar,Rangapriya Rajashekar, Indra Rajashekar, Kruti Ravalya, Shachi Risbud, Poornima Risbud, Ranjani Saigal and Poornima Surya.
Krishna - A Dance Ballet, being presented by Vision-AID on July 18, 2009, is a dazzlingly brilliant dance production in the traditional South Indian dance style of Bharatanatyam, bringing to life the timeless tale of Krishna, in a way that has never been done before. Through a combination of vibrant music and Jathis (pure dance movements), the powerful dance production brings together the best dance talent in Greater Boston, drawn from twenty dance schools, to forge an event you will never forget.
This presentation is co-produced by Jeyanthi Ghatraju, Mangai Gopalan, Hema Iyengar, Sujatha Meyappan, Vyjayanthi Prasad, Sangita Raghunathan, Indra Rajashekar, Ranjani Saigal, Poornima Surya, Poornima Risbud, Amudha Pazhanisamy and senior students of Jayshree Bala Rajamani, Thenu Rajan, and Meena Subramaniam.
“Nayaki” the dance production by Smt. Jothi Raghavan, a well known Indian Classical Dance choreographer, dancer and dance teacher in the Greater Boston area, is based on the intense love poems of the mystic poet Thirumangai Alwar. The poems are passionate and philosophical depicting the longing of the individual soul for the union with the supreme.
“ Nayaki – The dance production - A poetic journey, performed by Smt. Jothi Raghavan, a well known choreographer, dancer and Bharathanatyam dance teacher in the New England area (http://www.indianperformingarts.org).
The music for this production is composed by Rajkumar Bharathi . The research help and inspiration comes from the lectures of Velukkudi Krishnan Swamy of Chennai India. Vocal: N. Sasidaran; Mridangam: N. Narayanaswamy; Flute: H.S. Venugopal; Veena: Revathi Ramaswamy; Music Composed by: Rajkumar Bharathi.
Traveling from place to place, from temple to temple, Thirumangai Azhwar composed exceedingly beautiful poetry to his Divine Beloved, Vishnu/Narayana, as an expression of his love for Him. Alvar means one who is "immersed" in the experience of God, the omnipresent mysterious one. Thirumangai Alvar is the last of the 12 Alvars. The twelve Alvars flourished in south India somewhere between the fifth and ninth centuries of the first millennium. The Bhakthi movement in India got a great boost from their Tamil hymns, which are profound and spontaneous outpourings of their bhagavath anubhavam (the enjoyment of the Divine being). Their hymns add up to 4000 in number and are revered as "the sacred collect -Dhivya Prabhandham, sparking a renewal of devotional worship throughout India.
The agony and the ecstasy of Parakala Nayaki, a persona that Thirumangai azhwar assumes to express his love and longing for his beloved Narayana is the core of Nayaki.
HD video and dance photographs from Vision-Aid's hit Bharatanatyam dance ballet - Soora Samharam - choreographed by Sri. Madurai R. Muralidharan, featuring over 50 premiere New England Indian Classical dancers. This dramatic tale of the birth of Karthikeya, and his vanquishing of evil demons has captured the imagination of many Indian poets including the great Kalidasa, who detailed this tale in the timeless classic Kumarasamabhavam. The tale begins with a romance between Lord Shiva and Parvathy and takes an unusual turn when Manmatha, the God of Love, is turned to ashes by the opening of the Third Eye of Lord Shiva. From the ashes, emerges Lord Karthikeya who then proceeds to defeat the evil demon, Soora Padman and transforms this demon into a beautiful peacock and a rooster. The tale also details the charming romance between Valli, a simple tribal girl and the handsome young Karthikeya.
Concept, Lyrics, Music, Choreography & Direction: Madurai R.Muralidharan
Production: Madurai R. Muralidharan, Guru Jeyanthi Ghatraju, Guru Ranjani Saigal, Vision-Aid