Madhuram Academy of Performing Arts presents ”˜Vasantha Nrityam’

By Aradhana Bhatt

Whether we attend social occasions or cultural evenings, the Indian dance scene in Sydney is dominated or hugely influenced by Bollywood. The audiences are subjected to the same upbeat movie songs, the same moves and similar costumes that are often poor reproductions of the originals they aim to present. Thus, an event focussing on Indian classical dance draws instant attention and applause and deserves to be marked an ”˜un-missable event’ on any art lover’s calendar.

India is a land of unity in diversity. Like a myriad of languages, a variety of regional festivals, an array of ethnic clothing and cuisine, it also has a rich and varied tradition of dance. ”˜Indian Classical Music’ is a term that encompasses the North Indian or the Hindustani music as well as the South Indian or Carnatic Music. Whereas ”˜Indian Classical Dance’ includes of a multitude of genres including Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Kathak, Mohiniattam, Manipuri and more.

It is against this backdrop that the mother-and-daughter duo Kalpana and Divya Sriram, founders of Sydney’s ”˜Madhuram Academy of Performing Arts’ set off   five years ago to hold their annual dance festivals, showcasing various genres of Indian Classical Dance. ”˜Madhuram’ has thus carved an illustrious history of treating Sydney audiences with their annual events of classical dances. This year, when ”˜Madhuram’ is celebrating its fifth anniversary, their line-up for the ”˜Vasantha Nrityam’ features two performances. Winner of five prestigious national awards, Parshwanath Upadhye is an accomplished disciple of the renowned Bharatanatyam danseuse Padmashree Sudharani Raghupathy. He is also an A-Grade artist for Bangalore Doordarshan and an empanelled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). He teaches and choreographs and is a sought-after performer worldwide and this will be his maiden and only performance in Australia.

Over the years Sydney based Ruchi Sanghi’s Dance Company has gained reputation with our audiences for their quality productions in the Kathak style, one of the most popular dance forms of North India. Dancers from Ruchi Sanghi’s group will be presenting colourful and vibrant Kathak dances as part of ”˜Vasantha Nrityam’ event.

”˜Vasantha Nrityam’, a celebration of Spring through dance, is being held at the Bryan Brown Theatre, Bankstown on Saturday, 8^th September at 6.30 pm.

Short URL: https://indiandownunder.com.au/?p=11478