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.

Soora Samharam, a full length Bharatanatyam Dance Ballet Drama, Broadway grade Musical

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

Singers: Kalpana, Kuldeep, Ananthu, Muralidaran, Ravali, Ranjani, Gayathri, Srikanth
Veena: Rajesh Vaidya; Flute: Naveen; Mridangam: D.A. Srinivas, Keshavan, Ramshankar Babu; Tabla: Chandrajit; Violin: V.L. Kumar; Keyboard: Navneedh;

Performers:
Shuruthe Ananthakrishnan, Niveda Baskaran, Sheethal Dwaraka, Guru Jeyanthi Ghatraju, Shreya Hegde, Pavitra Krishnan, Monica Manickam, Gayatri Menon, Sujatha Meyyappan, Nikita Minocha, Meyya Muthu, Nilanjana Nambiar, Shilpa Narayanan, Shwetha Nirmal, Guru Neha Parikh, Nisha Pillai, Susruthi Rajanala, Sanjana Rao, Sandhya Reddy, Guru Ranjani Saigal, Gopika Senthilkumar, Muvva Vangapalli, Priya Venkatesh

Child Performers:
Amy John, Bhoomika Kumar, Devika Nayar, Disha Surajiwale, Diti Pitre, Divya Arun, Gopika Nair, Hamsika Vedavinayagam, Jeyasakthi Kannan, Karthik Ramesh, Laya Ananthakrishnan, Madhumita Nambiar, Merlin Joyce, Meenakshi Dwaraka, Meghna Kanthan, Prisha Girish, Priya Veluri, Sadhaya Senthilkumar, Samyuktha Gopinath, Sankeerth Veluri, Shefali Bakre, Shireen Bakre, Shivani Belambe, Solai Alagappan, Sreeman Gopinath, Sruthi Kurada, Sruthi Ramesh

Cinematography. Camera, Editing, Dance Photography: Ganesh Davuluri, Dance Photographer

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

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

All rights reserved. Copyright 2012. Email for a written permission for any sort of usage.