Bhaktha JayaDeva Ashtapadulu - Kuchipudi Dance By Swathi Somanath: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR BHAKTHA JAYADEVA ASHTAPADULU -...

Vignana Samithi is organising a 2-day festival of classical dances on 31st July and 1st August, at the Anand Nagar Community Hall, Khairatabad. The festival will feature Kuchipudi dance performances by 2 well-known dancers, Swathi Somnath and N Snehalatha.

Swathi Somnath will perform a couple of Jayadeva Ashtapadis, such as Chandana Charchita, Radhika Krishna, Dheera Sameere Yamuna Theere and Ramate Yamuna Pulinavane, on 31st August. Ashtapadis were written by Jayadeva, a Sanskrit poet, to express the intimate power of divine love and the passion of Radha and Lord Krishna.

Swathi Somnath has choreographed some well-known ballets, including like Sarvagna Shankara, Draupadi and the Kamasutra. She learnt under Sumathi Kaushal, and had her rangapravesam at Ravindra Bharathi in 1980. Since then, she has had recitals around the country and the world. She practices both Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, although Kuchipudi is her personal favorite.

She was felicitated on a number of occasions, including with the distinguished Kala Ratna Award in 2006, and the Ugadi Puraskar and the International Woman Of The Year Award by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, apart from Nritya Kaushal from Late Dr. Channa Reddy and Best Kuchipudi Dancer from the Vice President Of India. Her academy Nritya Bharati, in West Marredpally, trains youngsters in Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music.

Vignana Samithi, which is in its 32nd year of existence, promotes classical music by organising music concerts every month. It provides a platform for upcoming artistes, and also gets senior artistes to perform and conduct workshops. Many accomplished musicians have performed for the organisation, Dr. Balamurali Krishna, the Malladi Brothers, the Hyderabad Brothers and Sankaranarayanan being some of them.

The recital starts at 6:30pm on both days, and entry is free for everyone. Please contact Suri Venkateswarlu, Secretary of Vignana Samithi, at 2339-8743 / 2330-4253 for further details.