Visakhapatnam: The 7th edition of ‘Bharat Nrithyotsav 2017,’ organised by Nataraj Music and Dance Academy, kicked off at Kalabharathi Auditorium on Tuesday, bringing in artistes from across the globe. Four artistes from different countries exhibited sublime grace and poise on the first day. It was a visual treat for dance lovers who tur-ned up in large numbers for the dance festival.
S. Geetha Narayan from Vizag captivated everyone with her Kuchipudi recital. She performed Annamacharya’s composition ‘Okaparikokapari’ in Kharaharapriya ragam and Aadi talam. The piece in praise of the beauty and charm of lord Venkateshwara was well choreographed by K.V. Lakshmi, principal of the Nataraj Music and Dance Academy.
Antara Datta from Cleveland, USA, began her Kathak performance with ‘Devi Stuti’, an excerpt taken from the Sanskrit Stutra Jai Bhagavathi in the choreography of Pt. Birju Maharaj. She followed it up with a pure Nritta item, ‘Jhaptaal’, a technical piece with a 10-be-at cycle. Her final item, Tumri, was an expressive odyssey describing the intimacy between Krishna and Radha.
Presenting the grace and charm of Odissi was Maria Valdez, a young dancer from Peru, South America. The artiste who was trained under Ratikant Mohapatra and Sujata Mohapatra began her recital with a pure technical piece Shankarabharanam Pallavi in Adi talam. It was a well-composed item by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. The festival director and founder chairman of Nataraj Music and Dance Academy B.R. Vikram Kumar supervised the festival.
