The Local Natya Tarang Festival of Arts Included World Renowned Dancers from India

Report and Photography by Paula Antolini

On Sunday, May 18, 2014 the Natya Tarang Festival of Arts took place from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in Edmund Town Hall in Newtown, CT.  The event was presented by Soortaal in collaboration with the Milan Cultural Association of Hartford, CT.  Emcees for the evening were Arup Nanda and Suneetha Malkhani.

Master artists Rahul Archarya (India) and Anindita Nanda (USA), performed Odissi, an Indian classical dance recital.  Odissi is the most ancient dance form of India based on archeological and textual evidences hailing from Odisha.  The recorded history dates back to the 4th century BC.  The most pronounced feature of this dance form is the fluidity of the upper torso movement with extensive foot work. The tribhagi or tri bent position is the bench mark of this style.

Dances are filled with emotion facial expression, as well as beautiful body movements that also include beautiful hand positions, to tell each story.  

Dances included:

Nabadurga: This is based on a song depicting the attributes of the divine feminine in the form of the warrior Goddess durga.  It demonstrates the victory of good over evil when the divine feminine destroys the tyrant forces of the earth. (Dancer: Anindita)

Sthayee: This piece embodies the nuances and grammar of Odissi. Taking its cues from the sculptures that decorate Orissan temples, it highlights the extensive postures and poses of the dance.  It is a pure dance piece without a specific story. (Dancers: Anindita and Rahul)

Priyacharushila: An expressive dance piece based on a song derived from the 12th century literary classic the GeetaGovinda. (Dancer: Rahul)

Hanswadwani Pallavi: This is a pure dance piece exploring a myriad of movements of the Odissi pantheon set to classical music of traditional Indian genre called ragas. (Dancer: Anindita)

Chandana Charchita: An excerpt of the 12th century Sanskrit literary classic the GeetaGovinda," this song depicts the colorful pastimes of the Lord in the form of Krishna. (Dancer: Anindita)

ShankarabharanamPallavi: This is a pure dance piece as above Pallavi. (Dancer: Rahul)

Patdeep Pallavi: This is a pure dance piece. (Dancer: Anindita)

AheNilaShaila: This particular song "AheNilaSaila" is one of the most famous Oriya poem in praise of the Lord Jagannath written by a devotee of the Lord named Salabega.  (Dancers: Anindita and Rahul)

Ashtasambhu: This special dance of Shiva marks the period of destruction when creation meets desolation. (Dancer: Rahul)

Anindita, the founder director of this Festival, successfully presented and inaugurated the first International Classical Arts Festival, Natya Tarang, in Danbury, CT in 2011 with visiting Classical Artists from India. This is one of the first of its kind in Danbury, where she lives and got lot of accolades from the community.

Anindita is the founder and director of her creative venture, Soortaal, which is a platform to teach and propagate Odissi Classical form of dance and Hindustani or North Indian Classical Vocal to aspiring artists. Through the years Anindita has been actively involved with the cultural scene in the US, trying to not only promote Indian dance and music, but also to preserve the traditional and non-traditional art forms from the South Asia, predominantly India. She has many fusion and contemporary dance productions to her credit. Collaborating with other forms be it Ballet, Flamenco, Modern Creative, Balinese dance or various other dance forms, she has constantly tried to explore and prove the universal language of dance and music, the joy of movements, rhythm and sound.

It was thrilling to be able to view the performances of these two highly regarded artists from India, at this well-attended event.  See more info. below.  


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ABOUT THE ARTISTS:


RAHUL ARCHARYA

Rahul Acharya is one of the most loved and popular Odissi soloist in the International arena. Since the age of 4, Rahul has been training under Guru Durga Charan Ranbir in Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Rahul started performing at a tender age and today is marked as an eminent International dancer. He tours the world extensively. At home, he has been an active participant in most celebrated dance festivals of India like Khajurao, Konark, Mukteshwar and Ananya.

Odissi Qualifications:
•Disciple of Guru Shri Durga Charan Ranbir
•Trained in Hatha and Raja Yoga at the Satyananda Yoga Vidyalaya, Bihar School of Yoga
•Recipient of Junior Scholarship and Senior Scholarship from Dept. of Culture, Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Govt. of India.

Empanelled Artist of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)
• Honorary member of Sacred Dance Guild, USA
• Member of www.narthaki.com
• Member of the International Dance Council, CID, UNESCO
• Collaborated with Sutra Dance Theatre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Member of the World Movement for Indian Fine Arts, Italy
• Guest artist at Trinayan Collective, New York, USA
• Graded artist of Doordarshan, Govt of India
• First male Odissi dancer to be awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi
• Honoured by the Oriya Society of America and the Jagannath Society of America


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ANINDITA NANDA

Anindita, a danseuse par excellence is a rare combination of dancer, classical vocalist, choreographer, teacher & scholar. She is an accomplished artist of the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra gharana of dancing and is a known name with in the Odissi genre. She has a Masters in Indian (Odissi style) Classical Dance from Chandigarh University and Bachelors in Hindustani Classical Vocal from ABGMM, Mumbai, India. She is the disciple of Guru Shri Kishore Mohanty and Smt Nandini Goshal in Odissi and Shri Pranab Biswas in Vocal music. She has also been trained at the Odissi Dance Academy and worked with many guru's like Shri Raghudutta, Shri Harihar Mohanty, Shri Pavitra Jena. She has been learning, performing and teaching Odissi classical dance and Hindustani Vocal and light music, semi-classical, folk and contemporary dances for over two decades in India and currently in the USA, where she lives at present.

She received "Nritya Shree","Nritya Visharad" and "Nritya Praveen" from Kala Vikash Kendra, and the National Music Association, Katak. While in India she has represented her state several times on National level. She was recognized for her invaluable contribution to music and dance when she performed for the All India Dance Festival Organized by the Sangeet Natak Academy and at the Youth festivals held by the Government of India. She was also felicitated as the best Kathak performer in India Youth Festival organized by Government of India.

She has been the recipient of National Scholarship Award for Advancement of Indian Dance and Music from Ministry of Cultural Affairs, India. Recently she was awarded with the “Human Greatness Award” by the Mayor of Danbury, for her contribution to our community through her dance and music and through the numerous people she as touched through her performances, workshops and teachings. She was also honored with a nomination for “New England Women of the Year Award 2010”, for her involvement and contribution to the South Asian Community in the New England area and the community at large. She heads several Indian organizations and at present serves at the cultural chair on many of them.

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For more information:

http://aninditananda.com/

http://www.rahulacharya.in/biodata.html