Rituraj- by Aparna, at
Kathak Utsav 2010
Photos by Bytegraph
At its annual
event Kathak Utsav, Aparna's Dance Academy performed
one of its latest productions, Rituraj. This rendition
in Kathak was remarkable. Performers told katha
(story) of ritu (seasons) in the Kathak style.
The word Kathak originated from the word katha or
story. The dancers, Kathakar, tell stories in their
dance, Kathak.
“In India we
have 6 seasons”, explained Aparna Sharma, the director
of the academy, “One of them is Basant ritu,
which is also known as king of seasons or Rituraj .” A
two hours long production was formatted into a 30-minute
performance for the event.
In its fourth
annual Kathak Utsav, addition of great visual affects,
lights, and high quality sound effects showed attention
to details. The narration started with a story about
beginning of earth, and origin of its name, Ritambara
. “Ritambara”—a Sanskrit name for Earth—comes
from the various seasons that add splendor to the
planet.
The blossoming flowers and singing birds of
Basant ritu, sizzling heat in Greeshm ritu,
dark clouds and loud thunders of Varsha ritu and
pleasant nature of Hemant ritu are very well
narrated with great sound affects.
However, Kathak
performance is the one, which brought the
feel-in-your-bones experience. It is amazing to see how
skillfully, Kathak performers used “bhav” or the
expression of emotion to show sizzling heat. Lyrics
such as “ Koyal ki kuk, Bhaware ki gunjan,....”
and accompaniment of “savan aayo re...”
with peculiar peacock walk, were rendered amazingly with
bhav and layakari.
Aparna Sharma,
demonstrating the mastery in Kathak, performed with her
students in Rituraj. She held audience spellbound with
her dynamic and thrilling performances. “I have never
seen such a performance” said one parent after the
event, “I am very happy to know that my daughter has a
good future with you as her teacher.
She is
learning a lot from you. You motivate her and bring out
the best in her.”
“Your started
the show on time, this year and all past 3 years”,
observed another, “All 15 of my family members enjoyed
it very much”.
The event,
Kathak Utsav, began in its tradition of Ganesh puja and
guru vandana. Kamal Mohanty, a long time friend
of Aparna Sharma, hosted the show. With alternating
performance on Kathak music and selected Hindi film
music, performances were very entertaining. Little
Radhas' performed Kathak on Lata Mangeshkar's “Mohe
Chedo Na” . Each dance performance was Kathak dance,
whether the music was Kathak “bol” or Hindi film
song. Small children to young adults performed
beautifully with signature Jaipur gharana's high
speed footwork, and chakkars (pirouettes ).
Aparna Sharma
recognized the accomplishment of two of her students,
who recently finished their Bhushan certification.
Rajnish Singh and Nikki Sagar received tight hugs from
their guru, Aparna. Both students expressed, each in
their own words, their deep love for Kathak and strong
bond for their guru. A visibly touched Sharma,
explained such accomplishments are result of students'
hard-work, discipline and love for this art and their
guru. These are the key soft skills taught by her guru
and she is teaching her students in return.
In the finale,
Aparna and her students treated audience with
Jugalbandi, a rhythmic interplay between Aparna
Sharma and her students. With their lighting fast
footwork and pirouettes, and graceful hand movements
had audience on their feet and clapping.
The year 2011
will be 10th anniversary of academy and 5th
anniversary of Kathak Utsav. Aparna Sharma promised a
special show in Kathak Utsav 2011.
