I.J.NEWS SERVICE
BELLFLOWER, CA - Rangashree Dances of India presented a new dance production, ‘Prayag – Confluence of Rivers’ at the William Bristol Civic Auditorium here, on Jul.23. It was Rangashree’s first independent and original production. Playing to a sold out house, the production delighted the audience with inventive dance...
BELLFLOWER, CA - Rangashree Dances of India presented a new dance production, ‘Prayag – Confluence of Rivers’ at the William Bristol Civic Auditorium here, on Jul.23. It was Rangashree’s first independent and original production. Playing to a sold out house, the production delighted the audience with inventive dance...
composition, enjoyable music, and powerful theme. Conceived by virtuoso percussionist T. R. Sundaresan, the program shed light on the importance of rivers in our lives created awareness about the environment.
The presentation showcased the rich natural and cultural heritage of India, describing rivers from the Ganga in the north to the Kaveri in the south, combining poetry in various languages along with classical and folk dance forms associated with the regions of the rivers. A variety of legendary stories was interwoven with the descriptions of the rivers: Ganga and the birth of Bhishma, Lord Krishna on the banks of the Yamuna, the origin of the Godavari in Nasik, and the springing of the Kaveri from Rishi Agasthya’s kamandalu or water pot. Some of the stories were dramatized, some told in song and brought to life through dance, and others were enhanced with multimedia visual backdrops. The dance choreography was by Paulomi Pandit, and particularly striking was the tillana at the culmination of the show. It tied together the theme of the program – just as unique rivers unite in the ocean, becoming one, human lives begin and end as destined, but what we do in between is our uniqueness. A featured dancer in many of the compositions was Mahalakshmi Balaji, who, like Pandit, is an alumna of Kalakshetra and now a dance teacher in Southern California. Satish Shivadasan, another Kalakshetra alum, danced in the narrative dramatizations of various stories. Accompanying Sundaresan on percussion and Pandit’s nattuvangam were Mangalam Shankar on vocal, Murali Pavitran vocal and violin, and Akash Pujara on flute. The musicians efforts added to the quality of the program, as they performed in multiple languages (sometimes in the same song) and playing multiple instruments (sometimes simultaneously as in Sundaresan’s case). All of this diversity once again lent to one of the ideas of the program – that of unity and oneness.
The presentation showcased the rich natural and cultural heritage of India, describing rivers from the Ganga in the north to the Kaveri in the south, combining poetry in various languages along with classical and folk dance forms associated with the regions of the rivers. A variety of legendary stories was interwoven with the descriptions of the rivers: Ganga and the birth of Bhishma, Lord Krishna on the banks of the Yamuna, the origin of the Godavari in Nasik, and the springing of the Kaveri from Rishi Agasthya’s kamandalu or water pot. Some of the stories were dramatized, some told in song and brought to life through dance, and others were enhanced with multimedia visual backdrops. The dance choreography was by Paulomi Pandit, and particularly striking was the tillana at the culmination of the show. It tied together the theme of the program – just as unique rivers unite in the ocean, becoming one, human lives begin and end as destined, but what we do in between is our uniqueness. A featured dancer in many of the compositions was Mahalakshmi Balaji, who, like Pandit, is an alumna of Kalakshetra and now a dance teacher in Southern California. Satish Shivadasan, another Kalakshetra alum, danced in the narrative dramatizations of various stories. Accompanying Sundaresan on percussion and Pandit’s nattuvangam were Mangalam Shankar on vocal, Murali Pavitran vocal and violin, and Akash Pujara on flute. The musicians efforts added to the quality of the program, as they performed in multiple languages (sometimes in the same song) and playing multiple instruments (sometimes simultaneously as in Sundaresan’s case). All of this diversity once again lent to one of the ideas of the program – that of unity and oneness.
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