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the evening adding intricate details before each segment to keep the audience engaged.

Opening the program was an invocation piece gently performed by the talented flautist Aditya Shrivastava and the disciples of the academy. The first half of the recital embarked upon the classical aspects of music and dance. The opening rasa, titled, Shanta Rasa, was designed to invoke the emotion of peace. Some of the youngest achievers from the academy danced to Raghupati Raghav, Mangal Mandir, Jai Raghu Nandan and Om Shanti. One of the more powerful emotions, love, was the theme for the next Shringara rasa, which was followed by Hasya rasa to exemplify joy.

The deep talent of the musicians was reflected in their use of a wide variety of eastern instruments as well as western instruments including the Tabla-Tarang, drums, guitar, keyboards and percussion. The entire ensemble was performed with finesse as the vocalists beautifully rendered classical Hindustani tunes for the dancers who also performed to the kathak incantations by their guru, Kumud Savla. Viren introduced the next segment using his name as an example to show courage or ‘Veera’ rasa.

Some of the senior dancers of the academy performed Drauhphadi Vastra Haran in the next rasa about disgust, Vibhatsa rasa. The dancers exhibited their grace as they had to coordinate with each other in terms of stage formations, eye movements and expressions to personify the emotions they were portraying.

Thare Bin Lage Nahin and Teray Bina (Guru) represented the element of sadness in the next segment: Karuna rasa. School’s senior students including Pankaj Bhargava and Sima Modi mellifluously rendered the vocals for the evening adding alaap to the pieces. In ‘Bhayanaka’ rasa, fear was the theme used to depict the terror. This was followed by one of the most pesky and widespread emotion, that of anger in Raudra rasa with the piece titled Tandav. Teacher Yaswant Panchal graciously conducted a very intricate chorus of vocal students as they expertly sang Tanas in Tandav composition.

A dramatic fusion piece was beautifully presented by the advanced dancers of the recital, who were dressed in elegant green and magenta outfits, as they personified ajooba or wonder in Adbhuta rasa. This led to the finale for the first half of the evening as the classical pieces came to an end. After a brief intermission, with food provided by Patel Brothers, the second half of the evening was introduced.

The second half of the program showcased modern Bollywood dances interlaced against fusion pieces with contemporary steps. The ornate outfits displayed by each of the dance groups filled the audience with zest during this segment. Old Bollywood tunes by Mukesh were brought back alive with young talented artists in a truly colorful display. The schools students display was remarkable as each piece was executed flawlessly from the young students to the advanced dancers. Their hard work and dedication was manifested through the sheer number of items in this half of the program. Some of the pieces in this segment included songs from recent Hindi movies including Dil Vich Lagya Ve and Ghoomer Re (Chup Chup Ke) and Chaand Sifarish (Fanah).

One of the many noteworthy pieces in this segment included the rendition of Barso Re (Guru), which drew a thunderous applause from the audience. The senior dancers dressed in maroon and beige outfits gorgeously performed to Salaam (Umrao Jaan). As the evening drew to a close, to wrap up the segment titled Drishti or perception, all of the dancers of the academy assembled on stage to the song Des Rangila (Fanah), for a grandiose finale.

The Nritya Natya Kala Bharthi academy was praised for carefully choosing outfits that not only suited each of the songs but also looked very majestic on stage. Despite some of the technical difficulties for the sound system, all the artists performed superbly. Notable guest artists Alamgir, Apurva Shrivastava, Azim Khan, Jayur Patel, Dexter Ragunanan, Darshak Thacker delighted the audience with their professional talents. The recital was unique as it captured artists from both genres of music and dance coming together in a spectacular ensemble through the live orchestration.