Young dance enthusiasts and parents were in for a treat at the special dance demonstration on Ashtanayikas by Smt. Poornima Surya organized by Spanda School of Dance. Being a seasoned dancer myself, I was very intrigued about how a topic so complex would be presented to children that are still fledglings in the realm of classical dance. Will they get the concept of a Virahotkhanditha or any of the Ashtanayikas for that matter? I expected that there would be some moments where the kids would be like the deer in front of a headlight. Boy, I could not have been more wrong in my assumption. From start to finish, everyone was kept enthralled and attentive by Poornima. The demonstration was interactive and the children were very eager to participate in the discussion. Hands were flying up with eager “me… me…” from the children to participate with their ideas and views.

The Ashta Nayikas were associated to Disney characters that the children could relate to and believe me when I say so, my students that attended the program still remember the characters that were portrayed. Poornima spoke about the characteristics of each Nayika at the level that the kids absolutely related to. For example, Vasakasajja was compared to Cinderella when she got ready for the Ball at the Palace, Vipralabdha was compared to princess Mulan who felt deceived and Abhisaarika was related to Ariel from Little Mermaid. Similarly other Nayika bhavas were related to appropriate Disney characters. Once the correlation was made to each of the characters, Poornima chose a Javali to suit that Nayika and demonstrated the emotion and characteristics through effective Sanchari Bhava. Prafulla Velury and Surya Sundarajan lent excellent vocal and violin support to the evening’s demonstration which added to the drama effect of the sancharis presented.

Overall, the program was a memory to keep for the children and others that attended it. A huge shout out to Suman Adisesh, the director of Spanda School for organizing events such as this to enrich young dancers with the opportunity and exposure to quality dance performances. We look forward to more such events.

Please find the Youtube link to the performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K23F1ZL5TXA&feature=youtu.be

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