Moves that sweep you off your feet

Expression of feelings and complex emotions is best done through dance, which is not only limited to the boundaries of an art form but outshines the limited approach of words. In an attempt to showcase a dance performed on the beats of amalgamated carnatic music and classical Hindustan music, ‘Aayam Cultural Society’, Art Culture & Languages, Government of Delhi is organising a Bharatnatyam dance recital. Shashrek Ambardar, disciple of Sindhu Mishra will be performing in the national Capital.

The event will be inaugurated by Kapil Mishra, Minister of Art, Culture & Languages, Government of Delhi. With its vivid expression of emotions, its sculpturesque poses and the rhythmic depiction of innate human feelings, Bharatnatyam has been one of India’s most loved classical dance forms that have retained its popularity over centuries and spread its following to even distant lands.

Presented by Aayam Cultural Society, choreographed by renowned danseuse Sindhu Mishra, recital has attempted a unique synthesis between Carnatic and Hindustani music styles.

This January, ‘Aayam,’ the society for promotion of Indian culture, is presenting a never-seen-before performance of Bharatnatyam that blends the seamless singing of Hindustani classical music with the rhythmic elements of Carnatic music to attempt a new take on the traditional south Indian dance form.

Choreographed by veteran danseuse and actor Sindhu Mishra, and performed solo by her young and dynamic disciple Shashrek Ambardar, the recital is in Hindi and offers a unique synthesis between two different musical forms.

Padma Vibhushan Dr Sonal Mansingh will grace the occasion as a special guest. The performance will also be attended by other veteran artists including Padma Bhushan Raja Reddy; Padmashri Pt Bhajan Sopori and Padmashri Bharti Shivaji as guests of Honour. Explaining the unique features of the dance recital, Sindhu Mishra says that she and her team have worked tremendously hard on this recital to offer something different and enchanting to the lovers of Indian classical dances. “This recital is different for its unique amalgamation of Hindustani and Carnatic music not just in rhythms but also in vocals. The vocal renditions are in both Hindustani and Carnatic, and this lends a unique blend to the traditional south Indian dance form. Unlike most Bharatnatyam recitals which are performed by women, this is a solo performance by a male dancer. The entire Varnam displays the Sringar Ras of the Nayak (and not the Nayaki), depicted through the episode where Rama has a glimpse of Sita for the first time in a garden before the Dhanush Yagya,” she says. Bharatnatyam is based on episodes from Tulsidas’s Ramacharitmanas, one of the most loved epics of Indian literature, a poetic retelling of Valmiki’s Ramayana. It was Tulsidas’s epic that successfully took the Ramayana’s understanding from a select elite to the common masses by narrating it in their language.

Currently studying Economics at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, Shashrek said, “I feel honoured to perform at a prestigious stage in front of some of India’s most veteran artists as well as the discerning audience of Delhi. We are hopeful that this unique experiment will be loved and appreciated by the people. I thank our troupe and my guru for giving me this opportunity.”