Sapta Tandavam performed at Bhimshen Joshi Kalamandir

Sapta Tandavam- the seven cosmic dances of Lord Shiva, a theme perceived and choreographed by artistic director Smt.Charanya Gurusathya was recently staged at Bhimshen Joshi Kalamandir in Aundh.

The students of Natyashala School of Bharathanatyam depicted Lord Shiva's vigorous dance, portraying the seven tandavams, based on the five manifestations of eternal energy - creation, destruction, preservation, salvation, and illusion.

Gauri and Kalika Tandavam was elegantly performed by the smaller girls of the dance school. The stories from Shiva Puran depicted as Navarasa or nine emotions piece, the expressions of the dancers justified each emotion leaving the audience with a serene feeling. The fast changing difficult poses and acrobatic karanas raised a storm of applause every time they were seen and the audience stayed glued to their seats whilst thesenior dancers moved briskly to the rhythm in Sandhya(Ardhanareeshwar form of Lord Shiva), Samhara (the anger dance Roudhram), Tripura (compassionate Shiva), Urthva (Competition dance between Shiva and Parvati) and Ananda (happy dance) Tandavams. The crowd stayed spellbound watching the choreography and the picture perfect poses of the young dancers.

A special feature of the evening was the Bharatanatyam-

Kathak

jugalbandi by Charanya Gurusathya and Smriti Raj. The subtle abhinaya describing the

Nirvana

Shatakam, composed by Adi Shankaracharyaand fine footwork of the jatis displayed their mastery over the art.

While giving away the performance awards for the season Charanya, the artistic director of Natyashala exclaimed, "Students discipline and love towards the art form is my inspiration".

The auditorium was full-house and jam packed with audience left standing in the aisle for seats. The event comprised of Rohan Pillai on vocals, Charanya Gurusathya on the Nattuvangam, Vishnudas on violin and Venkatraman on the mridangam. The sound of conch marked the end of the program, but truthfully the evening at Natyashala remains afresh, indeed a visual treat.