Three Aksha Institute of Performing ArtsPresents

Bharatanatyam Rangapravesha

Of

Neha NatarajSaturday, June 22, 2013

Plymouth Whitemarsh High SchoolPlymouth Meeting, PA

My JourneyI was five years old when my grandma taught me alabedo enna Krishna, a charming little Krishna dance that I performed with bubbly and heartfelt sentiment. I was the mother, trying to please my baby son Krishna, a god whom I have always adored and always will adore. I would urge my mother to take me to classical Bharatanatyam dance performances, and I would come home and enthusiastically imitate some of beautiful

steps in front of my delighted parents as the melodious accompanying music rang in my ears. At school, I would draw my friends over during recess and show off basic adavus. After coming home from dance

class, I would soak in a steaming shower, enclosed in a sphere of rhythm and music, banging my feet on the bathtub floor to the beat of the latest dance item.

To me, Bharatanatyam has always been about inner expression. Whether in a Shiva piece, where I show grandeur and power, in a Lakshmi dance, where I bless my worshippers with grace and beauty, or in a pure nritta item, where I define lines and shapes through precise mudras hand gestures and footwork, I am able release my emotions and take myself into a different world of power and concentration through this ancient and beautiful art form.

In addition, as a music lover, learner, and performer, I feel a strong connection to the accompanying music. While I dance, I am enveloped in the heat of passion, music, and rhythm. Through dance and

music, not only can I express myself, but I can also connect to my heritage. There are countless Hindu stories that I have learnt from my guru Vijiakka and Bharatanatyam. I have been inside these

stories—I have felt what each character has felt, whether it be a worried mother, an angry demon, or a lost lover.

Without Bharatanatyam, I am without a sense of identity and security. I am lost without the ability to liberate my emotions and to escape from reality into a world of ardor and pure joy. By dancing with my guru Vijiakka and the Threeaksha group, I have learnt determination, perseverance, focus and team spirit, all of which are essential to my success in any of my future endeavors. Thus, dance will always define me wherever I go in my journey through life.

BharatanatyamBharatanatyam is an ancient Indian classical dance form that depicts both Hindu and secular themes. This art form consists of two components, nritta and nritya. Nritta is pure dance, utilizing space, geometry, rhythm, speed, postures, and complex footwork. Nritya, in contrast, uses abhinaya (facial expressions), body language, and mudras (hand gestures) to express emotions. By employing these two elements, the dancer evokes the rasa, or the mood of the composition. Rangapravesha means “ascending the stage.” Following the culmination of years of rigorous training, the dancer performs her first full solo concert. She takes the blessing of her guru for future success.

Program MC: Sitara Soundararajan

Pushpanjali, Shlokam and IkshudhandadharaPushpanjali is an offering of flowers from the heart. Here, the dancer pays her salutation to the gods, her guru, and the audience. Pushpanjali is followed by the shlokam and Ikshudhandadha-ra.

In the shlokam, the dancer prays to Lord Ganesha, who rides on a mouse and holds his favorite sweet, modaka. She describes him as the one with fan shaped ears, wears the sacred thread, and is short-statured, and is the son of the Supreme Lord, Parameshwara, who annihilates all impediments.

Ikshudhandadhara, in praise of Lord Ganesha, is a combination of abhinaya and nritta. The elephant-faced Lord Ganesha, son of goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva, is as brilliant as one hundred suns. As the dispeller of fears, he is full of grace and grants boons to those who seek his refuge. Lord Ganesha, brother of Lord Muruga, was born in secret and blesses the sages so they are freed of the fear of the never-ending cycle of birth and death.

Pushpanjali - Raga: Nata, Tala: Aadi, Music composition: Dr. Shathavadhani R Ganesh. Choreography: Viji Rao

Shlokam/ Ikshudhandadhara - Raga: Vitapi, Tala: Aadi. Music composition: Dr. Raghu. Choreog-raphy: Shridhars

AllaripuAllaripu means blooming. It begins with rhythmic eye and neck movements and basic steps and graduates into a fast paced korvai. This Allaripu is set in panchajathi, five distinct rhythmic patterns that cycle between 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 beats. The dance item includes each of these with seamless transitions, challenging the dancer as she quickly shifts between the rhythmic cycles.

Tala malika. Choreography: Viji Rao

JathiswaramJathiswaram is an elegant item of pure nritta without any facial expression. Thus, no specific meaning or expression is attached to this dance. It is per-formed to a song that combines swara (notes) patterns with jathis (sequences of rhythmic patterns with intricate footwork), which end in mukthayas (clearly defined patterns that occur at the conclusion of a jathi). In this item, the danc-er displays her competence in postures, rhythmic patterns, and movements.

Raga malika. Tala: Mishra Chapu. Music composition: Sri S. V. Balakrishna. Choreography: Viji Rao.

VarnamThis tana varnam is the center piece in a Bharatanatyam recital. It is an elab-orate dance item and is a combination of complex footwork, hand gestures and a variety of facial expressions. In this varnam, the nayaki (heroine) who is a lover and great devotee of Lord Vishnu, is anguished because her lord is indifferent towards her. She begins by asking the beautiful god why he is angry with her and why he will not listen to her prayers of love and devotion. No matter how much time goes by, she asserts that she will always be at his feet. In the following verses, the nayaki expresses her admiration for Vishnu as the protector of the fallen and the helpless. She narrates the story of how Vishnu rescued an elephant that cried out in help as it was attacked by a croc-odile. The nayaki asks him if it is so difficult for him to protect her. The dancer complains of his unresponsiveness and claims that she knows nothing but her love for Vishnu, killer of the demons, preserver of the universe. She requests Vishnu, father of the cupid, to listen to her prayers once again. He is the one, in his incarnation of Krishna, who protected Draupadi from humiliation, so why, she asks, could he not protect her? As the nayaki describes different stories of Vishnu’s boundless grace and kindness, she prays to him to protect her and begs him to listen to her.

Raga: Natakuranji. Tala: Aadi. Music composition: Sri Mulaivittu Rangasami Nattuvanar. Choreography: Rukmini Devi Arundale.

Krishna Nee Begane BaroIn Krishna Nee Begane Baro, Mother Yashoda calls out to her son, the mischievous young Krishna. She asks him to come near her, and when he runs away playfully, she begs him to show her his adorable face. Yashoda plays with, and admires and scolds him in this playful item. In the following stanzas, the young mother describes her son lovingly as the one wearing the beautiful anklets and the sapphire brace-lets, and asks her son come to her, dancing like he always does. Yashoda picks up her beloved son and twirls him around as she praises him as the one with the waistband adorned with bells and ring on his finger, and the one with the divine Vyjayanthi garland around his neck. Yashoda vividly describes him as the one wearing the sacred saffron cloth from Kashi, the one with the sweet sounding flute in his hand, and the one whose body is anointed with fragrant sandal paste. During a dramatic climax, Yashoda demon-strates the feeling of awe and wonder when her son parts his lips to show his mother the whole universe within his mouth. Finally, she fondles her precious son, Udupi Sri Krishna, the benefactor of the world, as she rocks him to sleep.

Raga: Yaman Kalyani. Tala: Mishra Chapu. Music composition: Sri Vyasaraya Tirtha. Choreography: Viji Rao.

SringapuradeeshwariThis item is in praise of Sharada (Saraswathi), the beautiful goddess of learning who resides in Shringeri. She is the one who delights in music, the one who is of auspicious form, the one who grants boons to the devotees and confers salvation on them, the one who is the form of compassion and bliss. Sharada is the purveyor of pure knowl-edge and the mother of the Vedas. The dancer prays to the feet of the goddess to come and protect her devotees and to bestow prosperity on the entire world.

Raga: Kalyani. Tala: Aadi. Music composition: Sri Padmacharan. Choreography: Viji Rao.

ThillanaThillana marks the grand finale of a Bharatanatyam recital. It is composed of sculpturesque poses and nritta with complex footwork and captivating poses. It starts with graceful body movements and follows with the execution of geometric patterns and dynamic energy caused by the rhythmic footwork. The conclusion of this item contains meaningful lyrics with abhinaya. The narration is in praise of goddess Durga, whose warrior-like power and ferocity contains the combined energies of all the gods. The dancer describes her as the one with lotus feet, and one who is the merciful protector, the savior of the universe, and she asks the goddess to protect her.

Raga: Lavangi. Tala: Aadi. Music composition: Sri Praveen D Rao. Choreography: Viji Rao.

MangalamAt the conclusion of a traditional dance recital, the performer offers a mangalam, a short prayer, to seek divine blessings for the well-being of all people. The dancer thanks the gods, the guru, and the audience for a successful dance performance. It marks not only an end, but also an auspicious beginning.

Raga: Surati. Tala: Aadi. Music composition: Sri Purandara Dasa. Choreography: Viji Rao.

Viji Rao has over a decade of experience as a Bharatanatyam dance artist, choreographer and teacher. Her Bharatanatyam choreographies have been called a “technical tour de force” (Philadelphia Inquirer, July 2011) and she has been “hailed as a theatrical visionary” (Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan 2010). Rao began her training at the age of five, encouraged by her father and first dance teacher, Shiva Rao. She subsequently studied with eminent artists from the Kalakshetra School of Bharatanatyam such as Shridhars, Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar and Bragha Bessell, during which time she found the movement vocabulary that enabled her to explore contemporary themes. During her eleven years as a professional dancer and choreographer based in the U.K., Rao worked with Chitraleka Dance Company, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, Moby Duck, Sampad, Sampradaya Dance Company (Toronto), and Arangham Dance Company (Chennai). In Lon-don she also trained in traditional Indian martial arts forms, aerial and ballroom dancing, and contemporary dance at the London School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. Since 2002, Rao has been based in Phila-delphia, where she founded and serves as the artistic director of Three Aksha, a dance company and educa-tional institution. She has served as artist-in-residence at Girard College since 2008 and has taught Indian culture and aesthetics at Moore College of Art and Design, Temple University, York College, and Penn State University, where she helped organize the incorporation of Bharatanatyam into the undergraduate theater studies program. She performs both internationally and in Philadelphia, where her work has been supported by The Leeway Foundation, Dance Advance, the Philadelphia Folklore Project, Pennsylvania Project Stream-line, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

OrchestraNattuvangam: Viji Rao

Vocal: Ajay Warriar

Mridanga: Bhavani Shankar

Violin: Thevarajah Mylvaganam

Veena: Bhuvana Kannan

CreditsLighting: Chris Rossi, Eddie Gallo, Uma Patel and Amaeya George

Technical Consultant: Jordan Sones

Sound: Vision Technical Group, Inc., Ahmad Attia and Brendan Mooney

Photography and Poster Design: Indus Photography

Video: Henry Nevison

Back Stage: Ameetha Palanivel, Reena Palanivel, Monalisa Ghose, Rochitha Nathan, Sruthi Iyer and Vidya Sukumar

Costume Design: Viji Rao

Costume Stitching: Shiva, Aiyyelu Dressers, Chennai, India

Stage Design: Latha Nataraj

Brochure: Michael Brennan & Latha Nataraj

Design Concepts for Stage, Brochure, Poster and Lobby: Viji Rao

Catering: Devi

At the age of 3, Neha learned of Bharatanatyam and longed to be a dancer. She was initiated into the Kalakshetra style of Bharatanatyam when she was 6 years old. She has been learning dance under the tutelage of her guru, Smt. Viji Rao, for the past eight years under Three Aksha. Neha is now a senior member of Three Aksha and has toured with its productions, Abhika, Prayog, Uurja, Sam Gam Bam, and Pushkara, to different cities in India and in the tri-state area of PA/NJ/DE at venues such as the Painted Bride Arts Center and the Mandell Theater. Neha has also been providing solo dance offerings annually at the Hindu Temple of Delaware at several of their major religious events. Neha was awarded the 2013 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grant for traditional arts apprenticeship with Viji Rao.

Neha is also very passionate about various genres of Indian music and had her Karnatak music rangapravesha in 2011 with training from guru Smt. Kiranavali Vidyasankar. Neha won the 2010 Teen Idol competition at the World Kannada Conference attended by over 6,000 people in Edison, NJ.

These traditional art forms have become an integral part of Neha and will stay with her throughout her life. She just graduated from Conestoga High School and will be starting her studies in Biological Sciences at Columbia University this fall.