Classical Indian dance provides captivating spectacle

Nandhini Khrisna, Contributor, Denpasar

Since the commencement of classes in yoga, dance, Hindi and Sanskrit in January 2005, the Indian Cultural Center (ICC), Bali, has been regularly presenting dance performances across the island, especially Denpasar.

Last week, the ICC hosted two workshops, one on Bharata Natyam, the South Indian classical dance form presented by Apsara Arts Asia and Apsara Asia by Smt. Neila Sathyalingam and her students, and the other on Kathak dance by Neerja Shrivastava of Jawaharlal Nehru Indian Cultural Center (JNICC), Jakarta.

The workshop on Bharata Natyam was an enlightening and enriching experience as it covered many aspects related to dance such as nritta (pure dance), nritya (expressional dance) and abhinaya (emotional expression through dance).

The demonstration by Sathyalingam's students, supported by Kavitha Krishnan, made it all the more appealing.

Shrivastava presented the rhythmic aspects of Kathak dance through intricate footwork in her workshop on the art form. The audience was immediately able to relate to the interesting variations.

In both the workshops it was interesting to observe the audience participation. The audience, some of whom comprised ICC students and dance students from ISI (the local arts institute) readily accepted the invitation to try and pick up some of the steps from both the Bharata Natyam and Kathak styles.

The difference in the two styles became clear -- a reflection of how culture and also dance has differed in the northern and southern regions of a country like India.

The ICC invites visiting exponents of culture to present talks, demonstrations or performances at its premises, thus offering the people in Bali an opportunity to witness and enjoy the cultural differences and similarities of another country.

ICC has also collaborated with ISI in presenting jointly Balinese and Indian dance. ICC soon hopes to collaborate with other artistes from related fields.

Nyoman Gunarsa, the well-known artist, has expressed an interest to collaborate. The arts are thus a binding force that cross boundaries of caste, religion and nationality.

ICC also offers scholarships in dance and other subjects to students from Bali interested in pursuing studies in India.

On Sept. 15, the ICC presented a multifaceted program at the Nusa Dua festival, including Bharata Natyam dance by Nandhini Krishna from India and dance teacher at ICC Bali, as well as Kathak dance by Shrivastava from India and teacher at JNICC.

A joint performance of Bharata Natyam and Kathak was staged by Krishna and Shrivastava. Bharata Natyam was presented by two students from ICC. The highlight was a joint presentation of Balinese and Bharata Natyam by students of ISI who have also trained in Bharata Natyam at ICC as part of the collaborative program offered by ICC.