Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Alabama Dance Showcase, January 20, 2008
Natyananda will be appearing at the Alabama Dance Showcase on Sunday, January 20. Here is the schedule:
Alabama Dance Showcase Performance Schedule
January 20, 2:30 p.m. - BJCC Theatre
I
Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre 2:30 p.m.
Alabama Youth Ballet 2:37 p.m.
Birmingham-Southern College Dance Department 2:44 p.m.
Mt. Hebron Spiritual Light Dancers 2:51 p.m.
Sanspointe Dance Company 2:58 p.m.
Andalusia Ballet 3:05 p.m.
Arova Contemporary Ballet 3:12 p.m.
LynnTerra Ballet Company 3:19 p.m.
Alabama Ballet 3:26 p.m.
Umdabu Dance Company 3:33 p.m.
Intermission
II
Nathifa Dance Company 3:55 p.m.
Notinee' Indian Dance Group 4:02 p.m.
Bearing Light Butoh Dance Theatre 4:09 p.m.
Belly Dance Jewels 4:16 p.m.
Nashville Irish Step Dancers of Birmingham 4:23 p.m.
Natyananda: Dance of India 4:30 p.m.
Natasha Russo Dance Arts & Russian Beauties 4:37 p.m.
Devyani Dance Company 4:44 p.m.
Corazon Flamenco 4:51 p.m.
Osumare African Drum & Dance Ensemble 4:58 p.m.
Intermission
III
Montgomery Ballet 5:20 p.m.
Alabama Dance Festival Choreography Intensive 5:27 p.m.
Downtown Dance Conservatory 5:34 p.m.
Fuzíon Dance Artists 5:41 p.m.
Auburn Ballet Company 5:48 p.m.
Huntsville Ballet Company 5:55 p.m.
Southeast Alabama Dance Company 6:02 p.m.
Academy of StarPower 6:09 p.m.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Natyananda to Perform at Taste of Asia Fall Festival, Nov. 3
Natyananda is set to perform at the "Taste of Asia" Fall Festival and fundraiser on Saturday, November 3. This event, sponsored by The Birmingham Chinese Garden and Asian Cultural Center Foundation, will run from 10:30 am (opening ceremony) until 4:00 pm at the Cedars Club (301 Green Springs Avenue South), two blocks east of I-65.
Featured at this event will be many varieties of cuisine from various Asian countries, a silent auction of Asian art and other fine items, Asian performers presenting traditional dances from various cultures, and tours to the proposed Chinese garden site. Admission is free and there is on-site parking. Wear walking shoes if you plan to view the proposed Chinese garden site. This event is Kid-Friendly and Handicap Accessible.
Event Details:
Location: Cedars Club, 301 Green Springs Avenue South (two blocks east of I-65 at Green Springs Avenue exit) in Birmingham, AL
Phone Number: 205.903.5569
More information:
http://www.bhmasianfound.org
http://www.activeculture.info/eventsDetails.asp?ItemID=10181
Friday, September 14, 2007
Natyananda at Gypsy Night, WorkPlay, Sept 1, 2007
Gypsy Night at WorkPlay, Sept 1, 2007
Saturday September 1, 2007 at 7:00 PM
The WorkPlay Theatre, Birmingham, AL
Ticket Prices: General Admission $25.00
In addition to Natyananda, this event will feature genuine Flamenco & Belly Dance Performances by Irene Rimer troupes with live musicians. Performances include Corazon Flamenco, The Belly Dance Jewels, Pia Sen's Notinee Indian Classical-Folk-Fusion Dance and Devyani American Tribal Style Belly Dance. In addition, this event will include an international bazaar from Turkey, Egypt and Spain. WorkPlay information at workplay.com.
See also:
Irene Rimer Dance Academy
Devyani ATS Belly Dance
Pia Sen's Indian Classical-Folk-Fusion Dance Group, Notinee
UPDATE!
We have photos of the event, courtesy of Deloye Burell
Get your GUEST PASS here.
Friday, August 24, 2007
El Paso performance
Dancers: Sheila, Neha, Sushma & Nikki
Indian Cultural Show:
Venue: 26th floor Conference Room, Regions Building in downtown (1900, 5th Ave N)
Organized by:Southern Natural Gas, An El Paso Company
Date: August 8th
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Sheila Rubin Bharatnatyam-Founder & Director Natyananda
Ms. Sheila Rubin, one the earlier students of the Dhananjayan's dances in California (80's). The presenter is Ms. Katherine Kunhiraman, her dear friend and also a fellow student of the Dhananjayans. Visit Ms. Rubin's gurus website at http://www.bharatakalaanjali.org/ .
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Dr. Kalai Mugilan's Arangetram, Aug 12, 2007
Kalai and Sheila Rubin after the arangetram
Kalai Mugilan......
Dr. Kalai Mugilan had his arangetram on Aug 12th, Saturday at the Children's Dance Foundation. Family and friends cheered him on as he donned the grease paint to get onto stage to do a full fledged margam. Starting with a mallari he continued onto more intricate dances to finally end with a tillana. The second half of the program saw him more relaxed and it showed. The energetic Kali Kauthavam and the devotional Tulsidas bhajan gave us a glimpse into his dedication and all the hard work he had put in for this day.
Male dancers have to work twice as hard compared to a woman to impress an audience. The best thing about Kalai's dance was that "he danced like a man", without looking effeminate. This is not stating the obvious because a masculine interpretation of this art with grace is truly hard when all your colleagues are girls and ladies. Easiest way to learn dance is to imitate your teacher.... but he had to understand and reinvent dance "the masculine way" as his guru was a lady (no offense Sheila Akka). We all wish him more years of manly dancing bound by tradition.
Kalai has been learning with Guru Mrs. Sheila Rubin for more than ten years. It was heart warming to see him pay respects to his Guru Mrs Sheila & Guru-pati Mr. Lenny Rubin as per Indian tradition.
Deepa, his wife and all his close relatives were excellent hosts and fed us quite sumptuously with a variety of snacks.
Happy Indian Independence Day, Aug 15th
India Is Cradle Of The Human Race, The Birthplace Of Human Speech, The Mother Of History, The Grand Mother Of Legends And Great Grand Mother Of Tradition.
-- Mark Twain
India's Independence Day (Hindi: Swatantrata Divas) is celebrated on August 15 to commemorate its independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation on that day in 1947. The day is a national holiday in India. It is celebrated all over the country through flag-hoisting ceremony, distribution of sweets, and of course, dance.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Sushma and Shilpa's Arangetram
The Boppanna sisters had their dance debut on 16th June, at the Harrison Theater at the Samford University. The program lasted for about two hours. The dance kept the audience of friends and relatives enthralled without a dull moment.The sisters presented a full margam (a set of dances - the simple to the complicated - encompassing all of the Bharatnatyam repertoire).
All their hard work was evident from the very first steps of Pushpanjali, the shloka which followed just giving a hint of the intense abhinaya that was going to follow. The neat geometrical lines of the jathiswaram, enhanced by the soulful singing of Eswaran, paved path for the best number of the afternoon.
A varnam is the ultimate test of the dancer's stamina and skills, since it combines the elements of Bharatnatyam : Nritta and abhinaya in the right proportions. The abhinaya needs to be exact as you explore several moods in one or two characters. The sisters had chosen a todi varnam, "roopamu (d)zuchi" a timeless composition by the Thanjavur quartet of dance. They did full justice to it.
Guru Sheila Rubin, had made it rigorous and traditional, by not cutting corners to reduce the fast, razor sharp theermanams (highly rhythmic pure dance) which punctuated the soulful sanchari bhavas (mime). Although varnam's are generally performed in solo, the seamless splitting between the two sisters spoke volumes about the long hours of practice by the duo. The coordination and perfect synchronization of hands and feet many a times created an illusion of one person dancing with two bodies....
The abhinaya conveyed the sahitya (lyrics) content without exaggeration in both the javalis done by the sisters. The old "Natabhairavi" tillana a great favorite of dancers in the sixties (!!) was taken off the shelf, dusted and polished to all of our delight. The eye catching cross overs covering the stage left the audience spellbound. The music ensemble was a like good friend, helping them but never sneaking into the limelight. Clear enunciation of the lyrics and sollukattus (rhythmic onomatopoeic syllables) helped the audience to connect with the lyrics and rhythm. The musicians gave their best without drawing any attention to themselves.
The arangetram was both an inspiration and a benchmark for all the good students of dance.
Mrs. Shivaleela & Dr. Suresh Boppanna made us feel very welcome to their daughters dance debut. The great snacks at the reception after the dance were the perfect ending to a perfect program.
View more photos from Sushma and Shilpa's Arangetram here, courtesy of Deloye Burrell Photo.
All their hard work was evident from the very first steps of Pushpanjali, the shloka which followed just giving a hint of the intense abhinaya that was going to follow. The neat geometrical lines of the jathiswaram, enhanced by the soulful singing of Eswaran, paved path for the best number of the afternoon.
A varnam is the ultimate test of the dancer's stamina and skills, since it combines the elements of Bharatnatyam : Nritta and abhinaya in the right proportions. The abhinaya needs to be exact as you explore several moods in one or two characters. The sisters had chosen a todi varnam, "roopamu (d)zuchi" a timeless composition by the Thanjavur quartet of dance. They did full justice to it.
Guru Sheila Rubin, had made it rigorous and traditional, by not cutting corners to reduce the fast, razor sharp theermanams (highly rhythmic pure dance) which punctuated the soulful sanchari bhavas (mime). Although varnam's are generally performed in solo, the seamless splitting between the two sisters spoke volumes about the long hours of practice by the duo. The coordination and perfect synchronization of hands and feet many a times created an illusion of one person dancing with two bodies....
The abhinaya conveyed the sahitya (lyrics) content without exaggeration in both the javalis done by the sisters. The old "Natabhairavi" tillana a great favorite of dancers in the sixties (!!) was taken off the shelf, dusted and polished to all of our delight. The eye catching cross overs covering the stage left the audience spellbound. The music ensemble was a like good friend, helping them but never sneaking into the limelight. Clear enunciation of the lyrics and sollukattus (rhythmic onomatopoeic syllables) helped the audience to connect with the lyrics and rhythm. The musicians gave their best without drawing any attention to themselves.
The arangetram was both an inspiration and a benchmark for all the good students of dance.
Mrs. Shivaleela & Dr. Suresh Boppanna made us feel very welcome to their daughters dance debut. The great snacks at the reception after the dance were the perfect ending to a perfect program.
View more photos from Sushma and Shilpa's Arangetram here, courtesy of Deloye Burrell Photo.
Nikki
Magic City Art Festival performance was a great success!! The cameras loved our dancers!! Check out our youngest dancer Nikki.
Magic City Art Festival , April 28th, 2007
Natyananda students performed at the Magic City Art Festival, Apr 28th Saturday.
Venue: Backyard production stage, Linn Park, Birmingham.
Dances:
Shabdam by Nikki, Soumya & Krittika.
Padam by Neha, Smriti & Robin.
Tillana by Neha, Smriti, Kalai & Robin.
The padam will have live music:
Vocal : Ramesh
Sitar: Dario
Shilpa, Sushma & Smriti dance at the Hoover Library on 28th September, 2006.
As part of the India Week celebrations at the Hoover library, Shilpa & Sushma Boppanna and Smriti Krishnan will be dancing on Thursday 28th, september 2006 at the Hoover library.
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