Bharatanatyam Margam & Devi Mahatyam Dance Drama By Geetha Ganesan: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR BHARATANATYAM MARGAM & DEVI...

The South Indian Cultural Association is presenting a two-day festival of Indian classical dances titled Nrithyotsav 2009, on the 16th and the 17th of July. The festival will take place at Ravindra Bharathi, and concerts start at 6:30pm on both the days.

On the 17th, the second day of the festival, are Bharatanatyam recitals. The evening begins with Bharatanatyam Margam, a solo performance by Geeta Ganesan, which describes the traditions of the Bharatanatyam dance. The evening concludes with a dance drama, Devi Mahatyam, by Geeta Ganesan and her disciples from the Uttara Center Of Performing Arts. Devi Mahatyam is a dance recital which describes the significance of Hindu Goddesses.

A recipient of the scholarship from the Department Of Human Resources Development, Govt. of India, Geetha Ganesan had her initial training in Bharatanatyam under P R Balakrishnan, and has ever since been under the guidance of V S Ramamurthy & Manjula Ramaswamy (Directors, Sri Rama Nataka Niketan, Hyderabad).

Besides her Bachelor's Degree in Maths (Hons.), Geetha is a Master's Degree holder in Performing Arts from S N School of Fine Arts, Performing Arts And Communication, University Of Hyderabad. There, she was under the guidance of Pasumarti Ramalinga Sastry, Dr. Nataraja Ramakrishna & Dr. P S R Appa Rao.

Geetha has choreographed several individual items of the Bharatanatyam margam and also dance dramaa, including 'Sri Mahalakshmi Aavirbhavam', 'Devi Mahatyam', 'Rukmini Kalyanam', 'Shatosloki Ramayanam'and 'Bala Mukundam'. She has also authored a book, 'Basics of Bharatanatayam', in 2004. Along with flute artiste, Jayaprada Ramamuthy, Geetha runs an institution - Uttaraa Center for Performing Arts, training students in Bharatanatyam and the Carnatic flute. She is one of the very few Bharathanatyam teachers who does Nattuvangam and also sings for her students' performances.

Uttaraa Center For Performing Arts was established in the year 1999. The institution has produced several highly talented young dancers and musicians in a short span of time, whose achievements speaks volumes about the institution. The institution has been termed as Kalakshetara of Hyderabad by the renowned musician Nookala Chinna Sathyanarayana. Some of the Bharatanatyam students from this institute who won laurels at various places in India are Geetha Krishna, Rishika, Priyanka, Gandikota Suvarchala, Arpita, Amrutha and Sneha.

Entry is by donor passes available at the venue, one hour prior to the show. Please contact R Chakrapani at 98491-24675 for further details.