Productions
VELLAAYI
PC: Roy Photographs
NER KANNADI
PC: Moments by Priyanka
WHEN SHADOWS SING
PC: NMACC
Āmuktamālyada
PC: Mr. Varun Khanna
yoni
PC: Mr. Kishore Gumaste
UNRAVELLED
PC: Mr. Kishore Gumaste
SAMAH
PC: Mr. Govindarajan
"Samah"- For many centuries, two intertwined streams of thoughts have flourished giving rise to ecstatic poems that highlight the mad desire to live (and perhaps die) for a divine bond beyond the worldly realms. Voices that echo an unquenchable love for the divine and sometimes where the love itself becomes divine! Barring religion, caste, language, social standing or economic status, these poems advocate emotional restlessness and a very intimate expression of the individual self. In this modern era of religious intolerance and turmoil, Samah explores intense and beautiful poetic works of Sufi poets like Kabir, Rumi, Amir Khusrau, Raskhan, Bulle Shah and Bhakti poets like Surdas, Vidyapati, Mirabai, Kanhopatra, Andal.
Antaryatra -
The Journey Within
"Antaryatra - The Journey Within" explores the journey of the human mind. The performance begins with the neutral mind which is fulfilled and is at peace - a mind devoid of strong emotions. Through the course of the performance, various emotions are explored revealing the complexities of the human psyche. As the performance draws to a close, the mind transcends physical limitations to unite with the eternal consciousness.
VOICES
"Voices" is a celebration of the incredible human accomplishment of creating magic with words. The title Voices comes from the idea that the words in a poem start first as the Poet's voice. Those words are then interpreted by readers in their own voices in different ways. Dancers and musicians interpret poetry through movement and sound. Voices explores unusual verses by several poets including Pablo Neruda, Amir Khusrau and Jaishankar Prasad.
PC: Mr. Prakash Bala
Samviksana -
An Exploration
"Samviksana - An Exploration" is a margam-based performance that includes traditional items from the Bharatanatyam repertoire. The centerpiece is a varnam that describes the love of a nayika for her Lord. The production showcases the beauty of the Bharatanatyam vocabulary through precise rhythmic movements as well as brings out the emotive aspects that are central to this dance form.
About
Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam
Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam is a legendary Bharatanatyam dancer and the director of Nrithyodaya, the dance school founded in 1942 by her father, Sri. K. Subrahmanyam, in Chennai.
Encouraged by her father, Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam started learning under Kausalya who was a young teacher at Nrithyodaya. Later, she came under the wings of Guru Sri. Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai and had her Arangetram in 1956. Recognizing her talent, her father helped her further her capabilities. From Sri. Dandayuthapani Pillai, she learnt adavus, from Gowri Ammal she learnt Abhinaya. From various devadasis, she learnt 150 different adavus. Thus began her research.
Dr. Subrahmanyam has a Bachelor's degree in Music, a Master's in Ethno Musicology and a Ph.D. in dance from Annamalai University. As a research scholar she did her thesis on "Karanas in Indian dance and sculpture" and focused on the concept that the 108 Karanas (which are the basic units of dance) are actually movements and not just static poses.
After extensive research, Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam theorized that the Karanas as depicted on temple facades were not merely static postures but were actually complete movements. What we see on the temple facades are more like photographs capturing each Karana at a particular point in the movement. Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam has devoted many years to combining Sage Bharata's description of the Sthana, Chari and Nrtta Hasta that make up each Karana to recreate the complete movement of each of the 108 Karanas as described in the Natyasastra.