Attended by a packed Elmwood Normal School Auditorium – mostly with parents, and performed by dancers of various skill-levels and ages – led by their teacher Anuradha Ambalavanar, the Bharatanatyam Group of Christchurch showcased its ninth annual dance recital in Christchurch on March 24.
Describing the dance form that originated in Tamil Nadu making use of dramatic expressions of the face and movements of the body to narrate a story which is graceful, powerful and compelling; Ms Ambalavanar said, “Our first item during the recital was a Ganesha Sthuthi (prayer to Lord Ganesha) and Bhoomi Namaskaram (prayer to Mother earth) by beginner-level dancers. This was followed by a vigorous Pushpanjali with eleven students participating.”
Ms Ambalavanar, who started the school 13 years back, is originally from Sri Lanka and has trained under Vivek Kinra, Artistic Director of New Zealand Academy of Bharatanatyam and Mudra Dance Company, Wellington.
The third item was a Jatheeswarm in Kalyani Ragam with three students, followed by a Geerthanam in praise of Lord Shiva by seven senior dancers. Notably, Geerthanam is a dance describing the intricacies of Lord Nataraja's dance in the famous South Indian temple Chithambaram.
The audience was then treated to a performance called Sabtham in praise of Lord Krishna by seven dancers.
Notably, the central piece of the recital was a solo item called Varnam performed by Ms Ambalavanar, which required considerable stamina and skills to dance. “In this dance, the dancer was deeply in love with and devoted to Shiva or Lord Brigadeeswarar who is the deity of Tanjavur temple,” she explained.
“The evening’s other highlight and the seventh item was a fast, scintillating and vigorous Thillana in praise of Lord Karthikeya (or Murugan) - the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, and a much-revered deity in South India, by eight senior students. We concluded the show with a Mangalam where the dancers expressed their gratitude and respect to God, Mother Earth and the audience,” Ms Ambalavanar said.