Aesthetics of Kalakshetra- A Tribute to Smt Rukmini Devi Arundale.

Smt Sangeetha Prasanna and Smt Saranya Harikrishnan  presented  “Aesthetics of Kalakshetra” – A Tribute to Smt Rukmini Arundale   on April 1st 2016 as part of my dance school Spandha’s Dance concert series.
      
Sangeetha aunty performed a spectacular dance piece as a tribute to Smt Rukmini Devi Arundale. She learnt this dance at Kalakshetra. Kalakshetra was founded by Smt Rukmini Devi Arundale to promote Bharatanatyam. We students could see how much Sangeetha aunty respected and appreciated her teachers and Kalakshetra when she spoke about them. She told us how Smt Rukmini Devi played an instrumental role in spreading the dance form which used to be performed by temple dancers/devadasis, and popularized it all over the world as a respectable art form. 

Sangeetha aunty told us Bharatanatyam has few main styles, but within each there are quite a few variations depending on the teacher. In her performance, Sangeetha aunty showed how some of the Natadavus (basic dance steps) she learned in Kalakshetra, were different from the way we might have learned. Then she showed us the Alarippu. Although the way she had learned was a little different in some ways than how we have learned, the basic structure of Alarippu was same but there were few more taps of the feet and different arms movements. These dance steps she demonstrated were so amazing and stunning, it made the dance look very beautiful.

Then in the main piece, Sangeetha aunty danced an item on Lord Shiva, she had great expressions and dance was performed so perfectly that I could easily understand what she was trying to convey. To help us understand this story, Sangeetha aunty and her student Saranya took turns dancing so when one of them was performing, other could explain each dance step. They had variety of steps to show us and clear explanations for hand/dance movements/expressions needed for her pieces. I really liked how they performed graciously with really good expressions, I felt like I was in the place where they were dancing in.

Suman aunty (my teacher) arranges many of these performances for her students and others so they can be inspired by different styles and appreciate each of them. What was different about this performance than others was how Sangeetha aunty brought back her fond memories about Kalakshetra and Smt Rukmini Devi like when she mentioned how Smt Rukmini Devi told teachers if students are not learning it is not because of the student, it is because of teacher. These personal experiences kept all of us engaged throughout the performance.

Overall, Sangeetha aunty had an outstanding performance and I would love to see another dance she has done once more. Her basics in the dance were precise and her dances were very interesting and got me into the dance. I have learned so much about new style of dance and details about how and why it is different. Learning about another style dance can help us in the future. Thank you Sangeetha aunty and Saranya aunty for demonstrating your special dance style with all the specifics you should watch for when dancing, such as Aramandi, straight hands, good expressions, and perfect postures. This performance has inspired me to continue doing Bharatanatyam dancing and try my best so I can become just as good a dancer as Sangeetha aunty is. Thank you Suman Aunty for arranging these outstanding performances!

Please find the highlights of the program below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8NebZIO2gI

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