Good posture, precise
movements
RUPA SRIKANTH
| Shirisha Shashank captured with sensitivity, the awe and
majesty of the devotee's moment. |
CONFIDENT: Shirisha Shashank.
If proficiency in
movement and mime were adequate for a Bharatanatyam presentation,
Shirisha Shashank would rate very high on the performance graph.
Because good posture, precise movements and dignified bearing are
impressive attributes for any dancer.
There is also a remarkable self-confidence that
completes the cumulative picture of expertise. But Bharatanatyam as
a dance style requires more.
Particularly from a mature practitioner, it
requires an engagement from within, where humility takes centre
stage.
Disappointing
While each department was handled with a good level
of competency, it is the unified whole that disappointed; somewhat
like the missing piece in a jigsaw puzzle. Papanasam Sivan's
Nattakurinji varnam in Adi talam, "Sami Naan Undan Adimai" conveyed
the composer's intense devotion to Lord Nataraja.
Buoyed by S. Rajeswari's marvellous music and
pronunciation, the authority of A. S. Murali 's nattuvangam and G.
Gurumurthy's precision on the mridangam, the varnam was presented
with a skilful hand.
The teermanams were well-executed and
well-finished. If anything, there was the tendency towards overdoing
the stances within the movements. Piety dominated the expressional
passages and the devotee's total surrender was delineated with
restraint.
The `darshanam' of the Siva tandava was one of the
high points of the varnam, where Shirisha captured with sensitivity
the awe and majesty of the moment.
Purandaradasa's "Jagadodharana" was treated with
the same expertise. Mother and child at play was an enjoyable
interlude of uninhibited role-play. The dancer has an admirable
control over the performance space, but there was this nagging sense
of self that could not be shaken off.
All it did was undermine the hard work and
sincerity. It also relegated the programme from an experience into a
performance.
Shirisha concluded with a tillana of Dr.
Balamuralikrishnain in Brindavani ragam, Adi talam. Srinivasan,
violin, who joined the orchestra post-varnam, was a tuneful
accompanist to the singer who managed excellently without one for
the most part.
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