Dance review: Dancer Priyadarsini Govind's mature performance and dignified presence

FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE STRAITS TIMES (SINGAPORE) ON JUN 14, 2015 

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Dancer Priyadarsini Govind from Chennai entered in a multi-coloured costume and was adorned with jewellery that typically mark a bharatanatyam dancer. -- PHOTO: ESPLANADE THEATRES ON THE BAY

BY NIRMALA SESHADRI

Four musicians took their place on a raised platform at the side of an otherwise bare stage at Esplanade Recital Studio on June 12, for Defining Moments which opened with Maha Ganapathim, a traditional musical invocation to Lord Ganesha.

Dancer Priyadarsini Govind from Chennai entered in a multi-coloured costume and was adorned with jewellery that typically mark a bharatanatyam dancer. She cut a dignified and mature presence on stage for the show, part of the Dance India Asia Pacific Showcase.

Beginning with Alarippu in misra chapu (seven-beat rhythmic cycle), she moved straight to Varnam, the central piece in a bharatanatyam repertoire that reflects both abstract movements and narrative aspects of the dance form. In this piece in praise of Lord Brihadishwara, Govind executed the intricate rhythmic sequences with general ease and grace.

Although her footwork and hand gestures sometimes lacked clarity, her abhinaya (the dramatic aspect of the dance) was captivating. She gently led the viewer into an emotional space through her depiction of the heroine in love.

Abhinaya is Govind's hallmark and as she moved into the next two pieces that were purely expressive, she drew the audience closer and closer towards her.

In Nadamadi Tirinda, she delighted the audience with her humourous portrayal of a devotee who was questioning Lord Siva about his raised foot, a classic pose of the deity.

The next piece reflected contrasting emotions - Yasodhara's sorrowful plight, brought on by Prince Siddhartha's departure. Her intense expressions here evoked a deep sense of empathy in the viewer.

The scintillating Kalinganartanam - the young Lord Krishna's dance on the ten-headed serpent Kaliya, concluded the performance. Vocalist Vasudha Ravi sang with confidence while K.S Balakrishnan, Vedakrishnan and Bombay V. Anand provided able support on the nattuvangam (cymbals), mridangam (percussion) and violin respectively.

As the evening unfolded, one could not help but feel that the framing of the performance ought to have been different. Titled Defining Moments, Govind, in her introduction, led the viewer to anticipate a performance that focussed on those transformational moments in every person's life.

Except for the piece on Yasodhara that conveyed this idea, the overarching theme eluded the viewer for much of the performance - be it in the dance, music, costume, lighting or stage design.

Had Govind not encased the performance within a theme, the viewer would have been free to experience what it truly was - a traditional bharatanatyam repertoire or margam. When rendered by a mature and highly experienced dancer such as Govind, the margam can be a defining moment in itself.

Trained by the leading abhinaya guru Kalanidhi Narayanan, Govind has been a key representative of Narayanan's repertoire. Narayanan's sensuality-focussed technique became popular in Chennai around the 1980s, with abhinaya becoming a separate area for study in bharatanatyam training.

Now, over three decades later, dance students in Singapore have access to Narayanan's technique through Govind's training sessions at Dance India Asia Pacific. The wave of Narayanan's abhinaya has hit Singapore.

What Govind did not seem to realise was that even if she had performed her abhinaya sitting on a stool for the entire evening sans theme and title, the audience would have been mesmerised, for such is her calibre.

Dance review: Understanding Hindu god Siva through movement, song and art

FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE STRAITS TIMES (SINGAPORE) ON JUN 12, 2015 

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Indian dancers Anjana Anand (left) and Sheejith Krishna, who performed in Fire And Ash at the Esplanade Recital Studio. -- PHOTO: ESPLANADE - THEATRES ON THE BAY

BY NIRMALA SESHADRI

To research an ancient symbol such as the Hindu god Siva, reflect on its contemporary significance and convey that through multiple artistic disciplines is no mean effort. Her own multidisciplinary background as a writer, playwright, theatre director and Carnatic vocalist, along with her understanding of Hindu philosophy, would seem to place Chennai-based Gowri Ramnarayan in an ideal position to attempt a recontextualisation of the prehistoric archetype of Siva as a 21st century metaphor.

 Fire & Ash, a 90-minute performance piece that was part of the Dance India Asia Pacific Showcase, was scripted and directed by Ramnarayan who also played the pivotal role of narrator.  The production at the Esplanade Recital Studio on Thursday witnessed the coming together of spoken text (mainly English) with dance, vocal music, poetry and visual art. Underscoring the work as an attempt "to understand the primordial paradox called Siva", the narrator then explained ash and fire as symbols of destruction of negative forces and rejuvenation of positive energies.

 Ramnarayan adopted a multimodal approach in rendering her text, combining speech, hand gestures and bodily stances. She connected superbly to parts of dancer Anjana Anand's dramatic portrayals, as for instance in the depiction of the burning of Madana, the God of Love. Her creative use of speech and song blended harmoniously with carnatic vocalist Savita Narasimhan's mellifuous voice. It was a masterstroke on the director's part to have only Narasimhan on stage while the rest of the orchestra was made present through a recorded soundtrack. This allowed the audience to focus on the renditions by this outstanding and versatile vocalist who sang 5th to 21st century compositions of Indian poets in Tamil, Sanskrit, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali.

 While the dance was primarily in the bharatanatyam idiom, the Mahadevi Akka composition brought out some interesting departures in movement. Anand, who performed most of the pieces, was very convincing in her portrayal of Siva's love in Teruvil Vaaraano and as Madana in the verse by Kalidasa. The high point was a rhythmic piece titled Anbe Shivam, a splendid represention of the omnipresence and timelessness of Siva through body movement, intricate rhythmic patterns and abhinaya (dramatic aspect of the dance).

However, Anand was unable to present a formidable enough image of the primal Siva. In general, her abhinaya was overly subtle and did not leave an impact. Sheejith Krishna's striking presence and mature portrayals in his two brief appearances made one wish that he was given a larger role to play on stage. In the Surdas bhajan, Krishna was brilliant as the sinister-looking wanderer, skilfully balancing stylised (natyadharmi) and realistic (lokadharmi) expression.

A more minimalist stage design would have lent greater focus to the stimulating performances. The visual art element, introduced through a series of paintings at the sides of the stage, appeared to have little connection with the other strands of the performance. As paradoxical as "the primordial paradox called Siva" was the fact that at times the theatre space seemed to transform into a classroom setting; the audience became attentive children listening to a teacher speak on Hinduism sometimes in a sermonising manner. It seemed caught between a lecture demonstration and performance. A clearer focus on performance would have done greater justice to the effort and conceptualisation.