The dancer is at once the sculptor, sculpting and structuring space, in forms both graceful and powerful. She is the painter, adding tints and hues to a line drawing, bringing it to life. She is the poet, writing her poems with movements, gestures and expressions. Ultimately she is the seeker, whose dance becomes a transcendental, transforming experience – a joyous prayer with one’s very being.”
-Padmasri Alarmel Valli, Bharathanatyam dancer and choreographer on the joy of being a dancer
This dance is my solo performance from my Bharathanatyam Arangetram. It was choreographed to the traditional Tamil folk song called “Maadu Meikum Kanne”. The dance describes the conversation between the protective mother Yashoda and her naughty little son Krishna who is raring to go out and play with his friends and the cattle they take to graze, in the scorching heat of the midday sun. Yashoda, his mother, refuses to let him go and tries to get Krishna to stay home by bribing him with various sweet treats and promises. Krishna wants none of that. Then, Yashoda tries to frighten him by narrating tales of wild and ferocious beasts and scary thieves who roam the area near the river where he wants to play. In response, Krishna tells his mother that he will just play his flute to get them to dance with him, but if it comes down to it, he can and will fearlessly subdue both beast and man alike. This back and forth continues till Krishna bursts out crying, and the exasperated mother finally gives in.
This dance is an excerpt from the Varnam, “Swami Naan Undan Adimai”, that I performed at the Papanasam Sivan Dance Competition in 2019. It is an ode to Lord Shiva, the cosmic dancer. The Varnam is the most complicated dance in a Bharathanatyam repertoire and tests the stamina, technical and emotive ability of the dancer. The beginning of the Varnam starts with the “ trikala jathi”, a rhythmic sequence of dance movements set to three speeds. This is followed by vignettes of stories depicting Lord Shiva from various mythologies, interspersed with technical dance movements called “jathis”. The stories give me the opportunity to emote and portray various characters. The jathis showcase my ability to execute complex technical movements.