‘Dances of India’ celebrate anniversary with ‘Birth of Nataraja’

ST LOUIS: Dances of India celebrated their 35th Anniversary with a spectacular, eclectic mix of dances Nov. 16-18 at the Skip Viragh Center for the Arts in St. Louis, Missouri.
Both classical and fusion Indian dance styles were represented. The Birth of Nataraja, the featured dance-drama, was a lively, rhythmic retelling of how Shiva acquired the qualities necessary to become Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer. Sanjay Shantaram of ShivaPriya School of Dance in Bangalore, India, played the role of Shiva, while dancers from Asha Prem’s Dances of India played the narrators as well as the opposing forces
Shiva needs to conquer in order to become the presiding deity in the temple of Chidambaram. Shantaram was wonderfully dynamic and expressive, while the other dancers of the company performed with much verve and skill. Kiran Rajagopalan, a rising young star in Chennai, played the roles of Gajasura and Muyalagan with impressive strength, grace, and intricate, heartfelt emotion.
Fusion dance was represented by Patrick Suzeau, Professor of Dance at the University of Kansas-Lawrence. He performed a haunting, lyrical piece on the differentiated and undifferentiated aspects of Ganesha that comprised both Bharata Natyam and contemporary styles. His total immersion in the deep meaning of the piece was evident from the subtle smoothness of his hands and incredibly flexible body movements.
The performance ended with an ingenious combination of mridingam (by Ram Lakshmanan), flamenco (by Kristina Martinez of Viva Flamenco), tap (by Taylor Pietz of Diva La Tap) and Indian dance (by Sanjay Shantaram and another Dances of India performer). This piece of pure rhythm was a crowd-pleaser, as was evident by applause and appreciative whistles by the audience.
St. Louis Ballet, a local company headed by Artistic Director Gen Horiuchi, also performed in the 35th Anniversary celebration. Their piece, Retourner Encore, was breathtakingly radiant, a lovely, elegant piece performed by at least fifteen dancers to music by Bach.

Ashwin Patel