Uma Varma, who runs the dance school, couldn't have asked for more from her students of various skill-levels and ages, at Revathi Performing Arts' annual dance recital called Mayuram held in Christchurch on August 5.
There were ten performances in all, demonstrating the scintillating Indian classical dance form, which is full of vigorous foot-work, fast rhythmic body movements and graceful sculptural poses.
But the highlights of the evening were the Varnam and Thillana performances.
“Varnam was our centre piece as it tests the physical and technical skills of the dancers. It comprises of Jathis – step sequences in varying tempo, pure dance, and Abhinaya – acting and story telling. It starts very slowly, and then increases in speed towards the end. The traditional Varnam that our girls performed was recreated after about 30 years. The act was about Shanmukha, who is the leader of heaven’s army, loves to travel on peacock, and is being worshipped by the Nayika – the heroin,” informed Ms Uma.
“Then we had our grand finale Thillana, which is a fast paced dance with brisk movements and picturesque postures. Our act was set to raag mohanakalyaani and aadi thaalam,” she added.
Other acts included a Ganesh Stuti – a prayer to Lord Ganesha who removes all obstacles. It was based on a pure dance form known as Nrutha, where the piece is completed using footwork and associated hand movements only, with facial expressions being minimum.
The evening ended with a Mangalam where the dancers expressed their gratitude and respect to God, Mother Earth and the audiences.
“Our performances were so well-received that my students are already looking forward to the next year's Mayuram recital. We call it this because Mayuram in Sanskrit refers to a peacock. And majority of the dance pieces in our recital used a story, gesture, or movements related to the peacock, making the name meaningful and relevant,” Ms Varma said.
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