Friday, February 1, 2013

Dance Photos from Smt. Jothi Raghavan's Nayaki - A Poetic Journey

“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.


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“ 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.

Dance Photographer - Abhignana Shakuntalam - A Broadway Grade Musical, a Feature Length Bharatanatyam Indian Classical Dance Drama Ballet


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Photos from the hit dance ballet - Abhignana Shakuntalam - choreographed by Smt. Poornima Risbud and featuring premiere New England Indian Classical dancers.

Cast (In order of appearance):
Anirudh Nagesha (Lord Indra, Kamadeva, Sage Durvasa & Fisherman), Poornima Risbud (Apsara & King Dushyanta), Deepa Rajamani (Apsara & Sakhi), Shridhar Kulkarni (Narada & King’s Minister), Christine Francis (Rati & Court Dancer), Elizabeth Francis (Shakunta Bird), Amartya Nagesha (Young Sakhi & Lion cub), Diya Gopal (Young Sakhi), Anvitha Addanki (Young Shakuntala & Lion cub ), Medha Chandwani (Young Sakhi, Bee & Young Bharata), Akhila Penumarty (Deer & Court Dancer ), Sneha Saju (Hare & Fish), Srimayi Chaturvedula (Sakhi), Diya Sebastian (Horse & Royal guard ), Valar Jayaprakash (Royal guard & Fisherman), Dinesh Iyer (Hermit), Veda Chandwani (Sakhi & Court Dancer), Anusha Kulkarni (Sakhi & Fisherwoman), Suraj Rao (Hermit), Pallavi Nagesha ( Menaka), Aditi Bhivandkar (Apsara, Anasuya & Court Dancer), Shwetha Nirmal (Apsara, Priyamvada & Sakhi), Ira Padhye (Sage Vishwamitra & Fisherman), Ruksha Senthilkumar (Shakunta Bird), Kousalya Jagadisan (Sage Kanva & Fisherwoman ), Anjali Reddy (Young Sakhi & Lion cub), Sonali Gopal (Young Sakhi), Akhila Senthilkumar (Young Sakhi), Preethika Vemula (Young Sakhi & Fish), Katelyn Chirayath (Hare & Fish), Shachi Risbud (Shakuntala), Shurti Das (Sakhi & Court Dancer), Sona Saju (Horse, Messenger & Royal guard), Srilakshmi Neergundha (Royal guard & Fisherwoman), Jenika Patel (Sakhi & Court Dancer), Nidhi Yabannavar (Sakhi & Court Dancer), Aparna Singamsetty(Gautami), Suneha Kadimdiwan (Fisherman), Krupa Rajur (Fisherwoman)

Assistant Director & Choreographer: Pallavi Nagesha; Dance Coaching: Aditi Bhivandkar, Ira Padhye & Shachi Risbud; Costume Design: Vijay Costumes, Bangalore; Sound System: Ramakrishna Penumarthy; Videography: S.G Pradeepan; Facility: Steven Hall, Director Regis College Fine Arts; Printing: Kreate And Print, Norwood MA

Composition, Arrangement, & Keyboards: Praveen D. Rao; Percussions & Rhythm Pad: S. G. Pramath Kiran; Flute and Vocals: Varija Venugopal; Sitar: Shruthi Kamath; Mridangam: K.U. Jayachandra Rao & G. Gurumurthy; Vocals: Ajay Warior, Pooja & Snehaja Praveen; Sound Recording: Prabhath Sound Studios, Bangalore


Concept, Choreography & Direction: Poornima Risbud; Master of Ceremonies: Shekhar Shastri; Set and Background Design: K. P. Mallikarjunaiah, Prabhavathy Mysore, Srilakshmi Neergundha & Suneha Kadimdiwan; Lights: Kedar Risbud, Purnima Krishnan, Murli Kudlugi & Shrunothra San; Backstage Assistance: Dr. Venkatesh Nagesha, Chandana Addanki, Avinash Padhye, Dinesh Iyer & Shreyas Risbud; Projection: Image Production Services, Worcester MA; Photography: Ganesh Davuluri


Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Dance Photography from Studio pre-shoot for Krishna - A Dance Ballet, Choreographed by Sri. Madurai Muralidharan

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.


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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Part 1: Photography from Silappadhikaram - An Indian Classical Dance Ballet in Boston by Sri. Madhurai Muralidharan






Photos from the hit dance ballet - Silappadhikaram - choreographed by Sri. Madhurai Muralidharan and featuring premiere New England Indian Classical dancers: Abritee Dhal (narrator), Aditi Bhivandkar (narrator), Amrita Saigal (porkollan), Anand Ayyagary (guard, nattuvanar, monk), Chitanya Gopu, Hema Iyengar(confidant) , Hemalatha Gopalakrishnan, Jeyanthi Ghatraju (Madhavi), Kalpana Satchidanandham, Karthik (guard), Maithreyi Shankar, Meyya Muthu, Neha Pillai(narrator), Nithisha Prasad, Ramya Ragupathy, Ranjani Saigal (Kannagi), Saravanan Chithambaram (Cholan), Sravanthi Puranam (Pandian), Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy (auctioneer of Madhavi's jewel), Subha Kannath (narrator), Sujatha Meyyappan (Kovalan), Susruthi Rajanala (Kavundi adigal), Thara Thattachery (narrator), Thenu Rajan (Madhirai), Thivya Ragupathy (Pandimadevi), Vamshi Polam (guard), and Vijay Murthy (Cheran).



Part 2: Photos from Silappadhikaram - An Indian Classical Dance Ballet by Sri. Madhurai Muralidharan






Photos from the hit dance ballet - Silappadhikaram - choreographed by Sri. Madhurai Muralidharan and featuring premiere New England Indian Classical dancers: Abritee Dhal (narrator), Aditi Bhivandkar (narrator), Amrita Saigal (porkollan), Anand Ayyagary (guard, nattuvanar, monk), Chitanya Gopu, Hema Iyengar(confidant) , Hemalatha Gopalakrishnan, Jeyanthi Ghatraju (Madhavi), Kalpana Satchidanandham, Karthik (guard), Maithreyi Shankar, Meyya Muthu, Neha Pillai(narrator), Nithisha Prasad, Ramya Ragupathy, Ranjani Saigal (Kannagi), Saravanan Chithambaram (Cholan), Sravanthi Puranam (Pandian), Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy (auctioneer of Madhavi's jewel), Subha Kannath (narrator), Sujatha Meyyappan (Kovalan), Susruthi Rajanala (Kavundi adigal), Thara Thattachery (narrator), Thenu Rajan (Madhirai), Thivya Ragupathy (Pandimadevi), Vamshi Polam (guard), and Vijay Murthy (Cheran).



Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Dance Photographs - Krishna, a Dance Ballet in Boston - Part I

The thriving scene of Bharathanatyam in New England was elevated to new heights this last Saturday. 'Krishna - A Ballet' by 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.

The Ballet performance featured about 20+ senior dancers and dance teachers from the Boston area:
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.

Please click here for my complete review of the event, published on Lokvani.com

Check out some dance photographs from the stellar classical dance ballet performance below.


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