9th Pragjyoti International Dance Festival concluded
Guwahati, 20 February 2017
Aji Lamu performance by Monpa Community Dancers of Arunachal Pradesh
9th Pragjyoti International Dance Festival concludes its round of performances at Shraddhanjali Kanan
Mesmerizing performances by dancers from Indonesia, France and Japan mark the second day of the festival; Day 3 of festival to be hosted by IIT Guwahati
Witnessing a medley of artists from different parts of India and abroad, the audience were left enthralled with captivating classical performances that created a magical atmosphere at Shraddhanjali Kanan on the second day of the 9th Pragjyoti International Dance Festival. Today’s performances included a Kuchipudi performance by T. Reddi Lakshmi from New Delhi, Odissi by Anouk Tran Thanh from France and Nanae Kezuka from Japan, Balinese Dance by Brahma Kumaris Denpasar from Indonesia, Kathak by Vijay Srivastava and group from Guwahati and Aji Lamu by Monpa Community Dancers from Arunachal Pradesh.
The 9th edition of the biggest classical dance extravaganza of the region organized by the Kalpa, a society for promotion of literature, art, culture and social harmony, is an annual classical dance extravaganza to exhibit the wide range of classical dance forms together on one platform to celebrate the rich heritage of Assam. The event is an annual feature by Kalpa society and is supported by Oil India Limited, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India, Cultural Affairs, Govt. of Assam, Sangeet Natak Akademi, North-East Centre, State Bank of India, Apex Bank, Assam Gramin Vikash Bank, My Taxi, 92.7 Big FM, Smart Tank & Life’s Purple.
This year, PIDF has been hosted in association with the IIT Guwahati. Speaking on the association, Prof. Gautam Biswas, Director – IITG said, “Dance is the dormant language of soul. It gets blended with the ecstasy of mind synchronized with the movements of the body entailing a musical ambience. The Pragjyoti Festival is a great effort to promote the eternal aesthetics of dance to a greater height through its connoisseurs.”
National award winner, Yuva Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee, Dr. Anwesa Mahanta who is the Festival Director of PIDF said, “The footfalls today were even better than yesterday. We are overwhelmed with the support and awe-inspiring response of the audience. With time, the ‘Pragjyoti International Dance Festival’ has become a much-awaited festival for all the classical dance and music lovers of Assam. PIDF is a people’s festival, designed to highlight the aspects of our vibrant culture and heritage. We want to use this festival as a platform to take the various dance forms of Assam and the north-eastern region to the global audience.”
“This year we incorporated traditional dance forms like Bharigan by the dancers of Rabha and Aji Lamu by performers of the Monpa community of Arunachal Pradesh amongst our list of performances. We are glad to announce that the response has been fabulous, and many more dance troupes will perform in the festival in the years to come”, she added.
T. Reddi Lakshmi from New Delhi, who performed Kuchipudi at PIDF today, is one of the established dancers in the present generation of dancers. “For me, Kuchipudi is just not my passion but my way of living and the reason of existence” she says. She has been receiving her training under the eminent Kuchipudi Gurus Padmasri Jayarama Rao & Vanashree Rao since last 17 years. Her keen interest and dedication can be seen in her performances and from the extraordinary reviews she has received from eminent dance critics. Critics call her as a complete dancer and her dance style represents the quick-silver movements of typical Kuchipudi style. She has been admired and praised for her abhinayam by senior classical dance critics.
The extremely graceful duo, Anouk Tran Thanh from France and Nanae Kezuka from Japan presented an Odissi repertoire today on the second day of the Pragjyoti International Dance Festival at Shraddhanjali Kanan. They won the hearts of the audience with their power-packed performance and perfect hand and feet movements.
Next on stage, was a Balinese Dance by students from Indonesia. The Balinese presentation comprised of two performances. The first performance was Sekar Jagat - a special welcome dance, created by Swasti Wijaya Bandem, which is used as an opening dance at many occasions. The dance composition formed in a circle and is characterized by a colourful dress and gold floral headdress.
The second performance by the Balinese dance team was a Belibis dance, which was created and choreographed by N.L.N Swasthi Wijaya Bandem in 1984, with I Nyoman Windha composing the music. In creating the dance, Swasthi was inspired by the tale of Prabu Angling Dharma.
The key highlight of the day was the Aji Lamu performance by dancers from the Monpa community of Arunachal Pradesh. The Aji Lamu is a folk dance which had evolved in time immemorial among the tribe of the Monpa tribe. The group dance forms that they perform have masks of animals, and many props like sticks etc are used which makes them even more interesting and watchable. The music played is loud and enthusiastic. The songs played in the folk dance are full of inspirational messages.
On the third day, the Pragjyoti International Dance Festival will move to the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati campus, where there will be Odissi performance by Enakshi Sinha, Balinese Dance by Universitas Mahendradatta- Indonesia, Kuchipudi by T. Reddi Lakshmi, Odissi by Anouk Tran Thanh and Nanae Kezuka and another round of Balinese dance by Brahma Kumaris Denpasar, Indonesia.
* This Press Release was sent to e-pao.net by Rooplin who can be contacted at sharma(DOT)rooplin(AT)gmail(DOT)com
This Press Release was posted on February 21 2017
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