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On February 18th SEWA International USA’s Atlanta chapter for the first time showcased a variety of Indian classical dance called Thirkan at the Berkmar School auditorium that was attended by over 400 dance lovers from all walks of life. It was slated to be a fund-raising event that benefits Sri Lankan Tamil refugees internally displaced due to a generational civil war from 1983 to 2009.
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Two and half decades of prolonged conflict, in north and east of this tropical paradise has resulted in 100,000 dead, 96,000 orphaned and 45,000 widowed. SEWA International has undertaken relief and rehabilitation projects to address this calamity. SEWA is active in 17 countries and has 38 chapters in 38 States. SEWA is registered as charitable organization under IRS Rule 501(c)(3).
The program was emceed by two lovely ladies – Radhika Suda and Iti Pathak. After giving a brief history of SEWA, they introduced President Dr. Sree N. Sreenath and the chief guest Dr. Ravi Sarma. Dr. Sreenath welcomed all the attendees and the artists and urged them to donate generously.
Before the first dance, Radhika and Dr. Sreenath lighted a diya in a traditional way and sought blessings of Lord Nataraja and Lord Ganesh. The first dance is called “Kolattam” – a south Indian semi-classical dance performed with sticks and depicted Rasa-Leela of little Krishna and Radha. It was performed by six kids (3 as Krishnas and 3 as Radhas) between the ages of 6 to 10 years and was choreographed by Gayatri Subramaniam of KA Academy. Audience gave thunderous applause to kids for a splendid performance.
The second dance was presented by Natya Dhaara academy. It was divided into two parts. Part one was called Madhurashtakam and it presented madhura manjari of Lord Krishna. This segment was choreographed by Radhika Surajit. Part two was called Tillana, the sahitya of this piece was on Lord Vishnu which describes that he is a benevolent God who grants all boons to his devotees. The choreography was done by Uma Pulendran. Dhakshi Balakumar, Dharani Balakumar, Dharshana Venkat, Divya Chawla, Keerthi Murali, Mitra Kumareshwaran, Nandini Prakash, Shweta Mudelegundi and Yami Joshi were the dancers.
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The third dance was a Rajasthani folk dance called Ghoomar. It is usually performed by women during the auspicious events and to in worship of Goddess Gowri. The dance was choreographed by Ranjana Rathi and performed by Pratima Dhumal, Pranoti Savadi, Sangeetha Rajan, Priyadarshini Subramaniam, Jyothi Mundra, Poonam Dhoori, Madhuri Gangu and Priya Godbole. The costumes, medley and movements were eye-catching.
The fourth dance item was presented by Nataraja Natyanjali academy run by Neelima Gaddamanugo. She choreographed this Kuchipudi dance which was performed by Geetika Jape, Meenu Putta, Meghana Nuthivana, Akhila Ballari, Sonal Jape, Yamini Pulusu, Juhita Porika, Shalini Vemuru, Mahima Siripurapu and Prachitha Porika. This dance was set in praise of Lord Shiva immersed in his celestial dance. Roles of Shiva and Parvati were played adorably.
The fifth dance item was presented by Bharathakala Natya Academy and was called Thayagam (Sacrifice), which signified sacrifice of Tamils of Sri Lanka. It has two parts; the first part pays obeisance to rich cultural heritage through the beautiful composition of D. A. Srinivas. The next part described in the melodious voice of Sudha Raghunathan how their lives were destroyed and everything was taken away from them. It conveyed the message : “Even when all is taken away, there is still hope. We may not have a land but we have pride and big hearts.” This dance was choreographed by Subathra Sudarshan and performed by Ishwarya Venkatachalam, Karini Indrakrishnan, Rakshni Kokilakumar, Keshni Kokilakumar, Shridha Abay, Tejaswi Yalavarthi, Nidhi Anilnath, Vishwa Sevak, Swathi Rammohan and Nantheshan Sudarshan. |
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Sreenath ji presented a slideshow of the SEWA International’s various projects and a short recess was announced. After the thirty minutes refreshments break when the program resumed Bhangra was presented as the sixth dance of the evening. It was presented by BubbleYum Group of Atlanta and choreographed by Saurabh. Bhangra is a celebratory folk dance that welcomes the arrival of Spring, or Vaisakhi, as it is known. The costumes were vibrant and dance was enticing.
The seventh dance item was presented by students of Nritya Natya Kala Bharati in original north Indian Kathak style. The soulful sitar music was simply out of this world and matched perfectly with rhythmic footwork, spectacular spins and dramatic representation of themes from Hindu scriptures and Urdu poetry. Choreography was done by Kumud Savla with lead dancer Samta with six other dancers: Shivani Seth, Rakshini Kokilakumar,Sarika Gupta, and Pooja Vaidhya.
The eighth dance of tonight was called Lavani presented by Shiv’s Institute of Dance. It is a Marathi dance type performed to entice the audience with Lavanya or beauty and grace. Expressions are highlights of lavani performances. It was performed by Geetika Jape, Abhiniti Mhendrakar, Alekhya Korrapati, Nancy Jhanji, Rachana Kotapalli, Anita Bhagavathula, Trishna Patel and Aneesha Dasari. Choreography by Shiva Turlapati, who is a well known Bollywood dancer/choreographer.
The ninth dance “Om Shakthi” was presented in Bharatnatyam by KA Academy. It is composed by a famous Tamil poet and composer Sri Subramanya Bharatiyar on different deities and highlighted intricate footwork, jatis, rhythmic patterns and group formation. Choreography was by Gayatri Subramanian while the performers included Aditi Bellur, Sherin Peter, Kavita Ramchandran and Preeti Hariharan.
The tenth dance program was presented by Bhutanese Artists led by Ram Gurung. It is called Dashain Dikpal -- a Maruni dance of southern Bhutan and Nepal. It is performed with great pomp during the special occasions of Hindu festival called Dashain (festival of receiving blessings from parents and elders), Tihar (festival of lights), Feasts and Fairs. It is traditionally believed that this Maruni dance was originally performed by males in a disguised form wearing female dress and decorating themselves as females. Tonight’s dance was based on the story of the pangs and agony of Sorath Rani, a legendary queen. The traditional instrument “Madal” was played skillfully.
Participant Names: Boys- Damber chhetri, Jiten Rai, Kishan Thapa, Milan Thapa, Rupesh Gurung, Rajen Rai, Kiran Subba. Girls- Bhima Thapa, Manisha Gurung, Sumitra Thapa, Rajani Thapa, Tika Magar.
The eleventh dance was presented by Academy of Kuchipudi Dance and was called Gopika Krishna in praise of Lord Krishna. The last segment of this dance was performed a brass plate with intricate footwork and combined fast rhythms with fluid movements, creating nice blend of control, strength and delicacy. Choreographed by Sasikala Penumarthi was performed by Hema Shilpa Uppala, Reneeta Basu, Parina Shah, Sumi Selvaraj and Siri Yellamaraju.
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The last and the twelfth dance was a Gondhal –a Maharatrian folk dance presented by Pratiuma Dhumal and Group. Ghondhal is an established religious practice is an educative, entertaining and important tradition and is performed during auspicious occasions like weddings and treat ceremonies. Gondhal means “commotion” and it is the dramatic narration mythical stories, praise of heroes or folk legends. Prathima Dhumal along with Poonam Dhuri, Ranjana Rathi, Priya Godbole, Neeta P Sorte, Shobana Godbole, Shubhangi Bhosale, Sachin Sangole and Jaideep Magdum performed this spectacular dance. It was choreographed by late Aditi Kapasi (died on 14th February) and Pranot Bhosale.
Lastly two volunteers from Northview High presented a slideshow of their efforts to raise donations for SEWA. They had raised $800 in a coffee shop and another $700 by washing cars.
Prashant Bhardwaj, the co-ordinator of Thirkan came on the stage and thanked all the volunteers, promoters, backstage helpers and friends, food vendors, family members of performers, academies, audience and patrons for their unwavering support.
Rakesh Pathak, a senior Sewa volunteer announced that they are very encouraged by success of their first show in Atlanta and will bring more programs in the coming months. He thanked the donors who helped raise over $10,000 in a short time. One attendee commented that he has never seen such a high-level variety dance program in Atlanta as long as he remembers and would have gladly paid $50 ticket price instead of a nominal charge of only $10.
PHOTO ALBUM
https://picasaweb.google.com/girish613/SEWAFeb2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCPTp-tKV1dy0xAE# |
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