Event: ROOP BAHULYA
Presented by Leela Samson and Spanda
:Date & Time and Place:
6:30PM, April 21, 2016, Thursday – National Auditorium of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy
6:30PM, April 22, 2016, Friday - Main Auditorium of Bangladesh National Museum
6:30PM, April 23, 2016, Saturday - Main Auditorium of Bangladesh National Museum
Organized by: Shadhona and Shristi
Supported by:Charuta and Kazi & Kazi
Buy your ticket: Click here
ABOUT SHADHONA
Though Shadhona’s scope of work encompasses many genres of art and the target group is diverse, the defining character of our organization is the hard-core, intensive work that we do with the arts and artistes, in the areas of: a)research, documentation, b) training and c) production and presentation. Our work encompasses both the urban and indigenous arts.
INDEGENOUS PERFORMING ARTS:
Cholo Lathi Kheli
A country-wide year-long project to document, support and enhance ‘Lathikhela’ a martial art of Bengal, both East and West.
Cholo Poddar Gaan Gai
Shadhona has identified around eight different forms of ‘Poddar Gaan’ or the ‘Songs of Padma’ under various names i.e. ‘Behular Lachari’, ‘Monoshar Bhashan’, ‘Podda Puran’, ‘Poddar Nachon’ in four out of seven administrative districts of Bangladesh.
Dhrumel
With the partnership of ‘Manipuri Theatre’ based in Ghoramara of Komolganj in Moulvibazaar District of Sylhet, On June 6, 2013 Shadhona started a project to teach Manipuri Dance to the Manipuri Community. On July 18, 2013 ‘Dhrumel’ presented its first performance at Ghoramara which gained much enthusiastic appreciation.
WORKSHOPS AND LECTURE-DEMONSTRATIONS
Improving the quality of music and dance in Bangladesh had been the initial concern on which Shadhona was formed. For the last two decades Shadhona has regularly provided opportunities for students of dance and music to participate in workshops.
REDISCOVERING BANGLADESH’S LINKAGE WITH DANCE & TANTRIC PRACTICES
Shadhona has also arranged a workshop, demonstration and seminar on Charya Dance from Nepal, which is an esoteric tantric dance based on ‘Charyapada’, the earliest instance of written Bangla literature.
FESTIVALS
Shadhona has arranged many dance, music and one Festival of Books and Writers and also participated in many, at home and abroad.
REGULAR PERFORMANCES OF DANCE & MUSIC
• ‘Nupur Beje Jai’ a bi-monthly ticketed performance of dance
• Musical soirees of Indian Classical Vocal and Instrumental performances
DANCE PRODUCTIONS
From its very commencement Shadhona has been producing Tagore dance-dramas which include ‘Chondalika’, ‘Nohi Debi Nohi Samanya Nari’ (Based on Chitrangada),and ‘Bhanushinger Padabali’. Shadhona staged of Tagore’s dance dramas to celebrate Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th Birth Anniversary starting with ‘Tasher Desh’ and then Fireflies (Tagore’s Haikus), “Mayar Khela’, ‘Mawmomanoshoshathi’ (May, 2012) and ‘Aye Amader Angane’.In total Shadhona has 26 dance productions.
DANCE OUTREACH
Shakti – A Feminist Dance Theatre Project
‘Shakti’ is a unique initiative to empower young dancers to include issues of social justice, viewed through the perspective of feminist ideology, into their work in mainstream performance. ‘Shakti’ aims to create a space for critical reflection, based on the conviction that the arts, and the artists who practice them, do not exist in a vacuum, but are active participants in the process of shaping our culture. It aims to direct young dancers to believe that creativity and imagination are powerful instruments to change lives and build a better world.
Work With Differently Abled Children
Shadhona has conducted several workshops for differently, physically and mentally, abled children who are part of the BRAC Education Program. Gaining from our experience from ‘Shakti’, we conducted two workshops for Children with special needs. It is our hope that we continue with this workas we firmly believe that dance is a unique method of liberating the body and empowering it with new ways of communication.
Training Of Trainers
Shadhona has been training Primary School Teachers to conduct dance/music/elocution classes at the various schools run under the BRAC Education Program
DANCE SCHOLARSHIP
From 2012 Shadhona has been awarding scholarships to young dancers to train in dance for a year in India with the support of an endowment from the SAARC Women's Association.
INTERNATIONAL PARTNER
• India-Bangladesh Foundation
• Goethe Institut, Dhaka
• American Center, Dhaka
Leela Samson: The Dancer
Leela Samson is a dancer, teacher, writer and choreographer of bharatanatyam. She has been deeply influenced by the visionary Rukmini Devi Arundale, who founded Kalakshetra, the premier academy of arts in Chennai.
Leela joined Kalakshetra as a young child and her formative years were spent imbibing the nuances of bharatanatyam and related arts at the feet of celebrated gurus. Over years of independent work, her dance has metamorphosed from representing the best of her alma mater into a unique personal expression, which is at once unostentatious, serene, philosophical and joyful.
A well-loved and respected teacher, Leela has also trained several students who are now accomplished dancers and teachers in their own right. In 1995, she formed a group called Spanda, to explore group dynamics in bharatanatyam.
Leela has been the subject of two documentary films, Sanchari and The Flowering Tree. She has also authored several articles as well as two books, Rhythm in Joy (1987) and Rukmini Devi: A Life (2010).
She is the recipient of several honours, from the Padmashri and Kalaimamani to the Sangeet Natak Akademi and Sanskriti awards. Leela has served as Director of the Kalakshetra Foundation, as Chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi as well as of the Central Board of Film Certification.
Leela lives in Chennai, where she continues to dance, choreograph, teach and write.
SPANDA DANCE COMPANY
'You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive.'
MERCE CUNNINGHAM
Spanda, a group that presents works conceived and choreographed by Leela Samson, explores group dynamics in bharatanatyam. Launched in September 1995, and later registered as a Trust, it has an evolving repertoire.
Spanda, which means a vibration or pulse, is symbolic of the enduring and perpetual energy that is the life force of the universe. It acknowledges prithvi, the earth, as the central source of energy in the universe, and finds resonance in the nabha, the womb or core, as being the energy centre of the human body.
Bharatanatyam is an art-dance that connects with the earth, taking life from it and returning energy to it. The focal point of the dancer is the abdomen. Its potential to enhance the core values of bharatanatyam is sought to be explored and expressed anew.
The need to rediscover learnt vocabulary challenges and excites Spanda. While retaining the geometry, the variety and grammar of this ancient form one can reduce movement to its truest expression. Speed and virtuosity tend to take away from the beauty and grandeur of this dance style and its vital textual and musical tradition.
Spanda deliberates text, musical traditions and movement vocabulary and exposes the dancer and viewer to the stillness within them. The dancer in a group has necessarily to be more acutely aware of the space she occupies and of that occupied by another.
Spanda seeks to establish a relevant dialogue between dance, music and stage craft.
THE ARTISTES
Nattuvangam : Aadith Narayan
Vocal : Ashwath Narayanan
Mridangam: Karthikeyan Ramanathan
Veena: Bhavani Prasad
Flute: Sujith Naik
Dancers: Leela Samson, Nidheesh Kumar, Aditi Jaitly, Bilva Raman, Ashwini Viswanathan, Satyapriya Mohan Iyer, Bhavajan Navarathnam and B. Harikrishnan
Lighting: Gyan Dev Singh
ADITI JAITLY JADEJA
Aditi began studying bharatanatyam at the age of seven under Leela Samson. She graduated in English Literature from Delhi University in 1993. From 1990 onwards she began travelling for performances across India and abroad. In 1996 Aditi spent a year with the UK-based Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, touring extensively in the UK and elsewhere with the company. During her stint, she was exposed to different dance and martial art styles such as ballet, western contemporary dance, kalaripayattu, mayurbhanj chau and tai chi. Aditi has been a member of Spanda since its inception in 1995 and is also involved in the management of the Spanda Trust. She has been teaching dance in Delhi for several years.
BILVA RAMAN
Bilva was initiated into bharatanatyam at the age of six at the Rajarajeshwari School of Dance in Mumbai. Subsequently, she also trained with Kadirvel Pillai in Mumbai. Since then, she has been a disciple of Leela Samson. She has travelled widely and performed at various platforms in India and abroad. While in Delhi, she also devoted time to teaching the art form. Bilva moved to Mumbai in 2011, where she worked at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in the dance programme department. She has been a member of Spanda since 2004.
HARIKRISHNAN B
Initiated into dance at an early age, Harikrishnan started learning bharatanatyam from Smt. Jayashree in Kerala. He has learnt both classical and folk dance forms, including kathakali, bharatanatyam, kuchipudi and ottamthullal. He later specialised in bharatanatyam and received intensive training at Kalakshetra, where he completed his post-graduation. While at Kalakshetra, he performed at several prestigious platforms such as the Konarak Dance Festival, the Ananya festival in Delhi and at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai. Also a teacher of bharatanatyam, Harihrishnan has been part of Spanda since 2012
SATYAPRIYA MOHAN IYER
Satyapriya’s love for dance brought her from Pune to Kalakshetra, where she was awarded the best outgoing student of the year award in 2009 and received a first-class diploma. She also has a post-graduate degree from the same institute. As a member of the Kalakshetra repertory, Satyapriya participated in dance dramas and bharatanatyam margams. She has performed important roles in Sheejith Krishna’s production Masquerade. A part-time teacher of bharatanatyam, she joined Spanda in 2013.
ASHWINI VISWANATHAN
Ashwini began learning bharatnatyam at the age of seven from Jayanthi Subramaniam. She has also trained in abhinaya with guru Kalanidhi Narayanan. Ashwini has four master’s degrees: in Economics from Stella-Maris College, in Fine Arts from Kalai Kaviri University, in Professional Accounting and in International Finance from Australia. She is the recipient of several honours, including Best Dancer award (2000-2001) from the Indian Fine Arts Society, the Lakshmi Viswanathan award (2002) from Krishna Gana Sabha, the Yuva Kala Vipanchee award, Natya Chudar from Karthik Fine Arts and the Yuva Kala Bharathi from Bharat Kalachar, as well as a scholarship from the Iyal Isai Nataka Manram. Ashwini has had the privilege of working with stalwarts of the arts, including Birju Maharaj and Leela Samson. She has been a member of Spanda since 2013.
BHAVAJAN KUMAR
A student of Shijith Nambiar and Parvathy Menon, Bhavajan continues to learn abinaya with Bragha Bessell. Bhavajan has received several honours for his dance, including the Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai Endowment from the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana, the Pandit Durga Lal Endowment from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, the Natya Ratna Kalaapuraskar from Prayaag Nrithyolsav and Yuva Kala Bharathi from Bharat Kalachar. He has also worked with veterans such as Padma Subrahmanyam, Sudharani Raghupathy, Chitra Visweswaran, Leela Samson and C.V. Chandrasekhar, among others. Bhavajan has performed and toured extensively in India, Canada, the USA and Europe. Spanda’s newest member, he joined the group in 2014.
NIDHEESH KUMAR
Nidheesh kumar is a post diplomate from Bharatha Kalakshetra. Currently he is working as a guest artiste in the same institution. A dancer with magnetic stage presence, his stage shows have been appreciated by one and all. During his education at Kalakshetra, Nidheesh trained intensively in both dance and music, and was awarded a scholarship from the ministry of culture, Government of India for talented young artists.
Nidheesh is also a recipient of the India Foundation award. He is also a B grade artiste of Dooradarshan Kendra , Chennai. Nidheesh played main roles in nearly every production which the group presented in its performance engagements around the world.
DANCE PROGRAM FOR DHAKA BY LEELA SAMSON & SPANDA
21st April, 2016, Duration: 1.45
Kalabhairava -
Varnam – Ragamalika ‘Aattkollavendum’ - 40
Ososi – Mukhari - 10
Ananda Natamidum – Kedaragaula - 12
Smarasundara –Parasu
Medley Tillana - 24
22nd April, 2016, Duration: 1.35
Ardhanari - 14
Kalyani – 8
Aakash - 23
Abhinaya – 10
Atishaya - 10
Yetuvantivade – 10
Javali - Mayaladi – Todi - 8
Tillana Purvi – 10
23rd April, 2016, Duration: 1.45
Bhaaskaraya - 11
Spanda Maatrika – 37
Ashtapadi medley - 16
Kumara - 15
Gange – 15
Charishnu -12