Page 10 September 24, 2010 INDIA THIS WEEK

Indian Dances AHuge Draw At International Children's FestivalIndian Dance:From page1

artistes representing thetime-honored traditions ofIndia, China, Russia, Korea,Mexico, Peru, Bolivia,Poland, Africa, the MiddleEast, Spain, France, Irelandand the United States.

Ever since the firstfestival was held in 1971,the purpose has remainedthe same : "children from allover the world continue toshare their cultural traditionsthrough the internationallanguage of the arts,creatingan atmosphere offriendship,trust and harmony" .

For people of allages, the Festival is a virtualtreat, an oasis of interactive,educational fun. This year,it featured various pavilionsshowcasing traditional andsome impromptu dances andmusic, and what must beoneof the best-kept secrets fora first-time festival goer: atheater in the woods! Myriadactivities included makingmurals, face painting,printing a festival poster,petting and playing musicalinstruments, and a tent fortoddlers!

"At this Festival,it's unique in that theaudience turns fromspectator to participantand you experience artseducation while havingfun" , noted Rick Wormeli ,

Sheela Ramanath , Founder and Artistic Director ofKalavaridhi, is flanked by her gifted students at the2010 International Children's Festival in the scenic Wolf Trap National Park .

On Sunday, the big celebration thoroughlyFesti val took off on a savored by an appreciativerollicking start with the audience ."Phoolj haris" performing 0 a y a R a v iBol l Ywoo d dan c e s explained that the Raaschoreographed by Shimaliya Lila embodies an importantAgnihotri who is adept in the philosophy insofar as "Itperformin g arts, particularly symbolizes the eternal uest

in stages . The seamlessconfluence of these aspectscreate a complete artiste" .

Now a dedi catedinstructor ,Sheela believes "alifetime is hardly sufficientto explore any art form toits fullest. The experienceof art is truly humbling ; themore you learn, the less youknow. In art, the journey isitself the destination".

At the festival,the artistes of Kalavaridhiperformed at the theater inthe woods: an awe-inspiringvenue which matched theirmovements . The programbegan with the Thodayam,an invocation where dancerspay their obeisance to LordNataraja, the God of Dance,to the stage and to theaudience . It was a rhythmicpiece, complemented bygraceful hand gestures andelegant footwork .

" Sin c eBharatanatyam is a veryancient and traditional

, art form, most songs arecomposed in praise of Hindudeities", Sheela explained ."It is customary to begin any

recital with aprayer and anoffering".

Theinvocationwas followed'by dancesd evo t ed to

2010 International Children's Festival in the scenic Wolf Trap National Park.

Sh imaliya Agnihotri with her students at the 2010International Children's Festival.

pc mg ana p ayrng musicainstruments, and a tent foroddlers!

"At this Festival,it' s unique in that theaudience turns fromspectator to participantand you experience artseducation while havingfun" , noted Rick Wormeli ,an author and educator.

Day 1 of thefes ti val saw students of 'the Balaji Music Academydisplaying their vocal skillsin Bollywood songs selectedby Vatsala Mehra, a ghazalsinger pa r excellence!The Academy, foundedby Mehra, is a uniqueinstitution based in McLean,VA, offering classes inIndian classical vocal music,ghazals, bhajans, pop musicas well as music of generalinterest .

At the festival,the gir ls - Kamya Khera,Ananya Suri ,Anjali Taneja,Ragini Jha, Rhea Sharma,Saniya Suri, Shreya Bhatia,Shivani Prakash and RuhiManiyar - took turns inrendering popular songsfrom Hindi films.

The opening dayalso featured performancesby students of the NrityakiDanceAcademy, Nrityanjaliand the NatananjaliSchoolofDance. What was strikinglyapparent from the outset wasthe finesse with which theartistes executed their acts.A triumph of Indian dance!

On Sunday, theFesti val took off on arollicking start with the"Phooljharis" performingBollywood danceschoreographed by ShimaliyaAgnihotri who is adept in theperforming arts, particularlydance and drama. Her youngstudents danced with gustoto a number from the film' Oil Bole Hadippa ' and theever-popular "Khaike paanBanaraswala" . The openingdance, in the Bhangrastyle, was described as "atraditional jam from thePunjab region of northwestIndia. In modern times,Punjab dance fusing withwestern beat is a reflectionof the globalization in theworld where culture comestogether in unexpectedways" .

The ArtsFairfaxPavilion was packed ,withan overflow crowd, forthe Raas Lila performedby students of the NatrajSchool of Indian Dancelocated in Germantown,MD. The School's Founderand Director, Daya Ravi,choreographed variousdances depicting th epastimes of Lord Krishna,Radha and the Gopikas . Itwas a sight to behold - thecolorful costumes, vibrantdance mo vem ents, theartistic chemistry, the gaiety,mischie vous pranks - one

big celebration thoroughlysavored by an appreciativeaudience .

Daya Raviexplained that the RaasLila embodies an importantphilosoph y insofar as "Itsymbolizes the eternal questof ev ery human soul toultimately merge with theSupreme: Jeevathma-Radhawith th e Paramathma­Krishna . This unionrepresents an unprecedentedendless bliss" .

The artistes whoperformed this heart­warming, ever-popularIndian dance were Varshini(child Krishna), Sneha (adultKrishna) , Smruti (Radhaand Gopi), Rohini , Jhanavi,Agnes, Isha, Amy, Vidya,Jahnavi, Subhiksha andSabrina.

Day2 of the festivalremained a testament tothe talent of studentsbelonging to premiere danceinstitutions : Kalavaridhi;Natyabhoomi School ofDa nce ; Jhanak DanceAcademy; Nritya Niketan;and those aforementioned.Indian. dances , rich invariety, held sway!

Sheela Ramanathis the Founder and ArtisticDirector of Kalvaridhi, aSan skrit word meanin gOcean of Art. The beliefis that art is like the ocean- boundless, mysterious and

intriguing!"At Kalavaridhi ,

we aim to instill theunderstanding andappreciation for life that artbrings through the mediumof Bharatanatyam" , Sheelatold the festival audience."Being a very challenging

discipline , it takes yearsof training to achieve thecal iber of a performer.Rigorous training beginsat a very young age wherethe foundation is laid .Core aspe ct s of rhythm ,melody and emotive facialexpressions are introduc ed

recital with aprayer and anoffering" .

Th ein vo c a t i onwas followedb y d an c e sd e v o t e d toLo rd Shivaand His sonLord Ganesha,and a Tamilcomposition inpraise of LordKumaresh, thesecond son ofLo rd Shiva,which was avibrant a ndenergetic piececombining thepur e as pec tsof r hythmand emotiveexpressions.

Thec o n cl u d i n gdance bySheelafocusedon the cosmicdancer LordShiva . "The

devo tee glorifies Him asthe greatest sculptor of theuniverse" ,Sheela said. "Hisgrandeur is beyond mortalimagination. His cosmicform personifies the cyclicalnature of the universe: it hasno beginning and no end" .

It was a brilli an tperformance in an idyllicsetting!