Springing into summer is about the time when most dance and music schools are bubbling with excitement. That is the time when most of these schools conduct their annual dance shows before the commencement of the summer vacation.
Summer had just begun in New England and June 9th was a delightful day for the students of Kolam Academy of Dance. The artistic director of Kolam Academy, Smt Sujatha Meyyappan along with her students presented a thematic Bharatanatyam presentation - Porpatham at the Chinmaya Maruti Auditorium, Andover. The event raised funds for “We Care Charityâ€.
It was indeed a significant day for the students of the Kolam academy as they eagerly anticipated to showcase their talent on stage to their proud parents, Guru and other Rasikas. Porpatham meaning the golden feet was an awe-inspiring theme where by songs on the eternal dancers - Shiva and Parvathi were performed. Guru , Smt Sujatha Meyyappan started the show with a fitting welcome address welcoming everyone and introducing the theme to the audience.
The first few presentations were Pushpanjali , Jatiswaram in Kalyani and Nirutha Ganapathiye in ragam Gambeera Nattai set to Adi thaalam portraying students of different levels and experience.
The Soorya Kavithuvam in raagam Palini , Adi thalam was a spell bound performance where the dancers took various formations to depict the Sun God riding his chariot. The virutham was mesmerizing clubbed with the wonderful costume of the dancers kept the audience rapt.
The Shivan Kavadi Chindhu was a very colorful performance filling the stage and bought together many students at varying levels of expertise from the school. They danced in perfect coordination to ragam Chenchurutti set to thalam Tisra Nadai. This song was a unique piece in the praise of Vallalaar , Sri Ramalinga Swamigal. The Nataraja Kavithuvam in ragam Kambhoji followed by Devi Stuthi in ragam Gambeera Nattai were magnificent pieces to watch. The dance on Mahakali was a true treat to the eyes. Dancers emoting the Kaali in various dance forms was well articulated. The grand costume and gracefulness of the dancers added to the success of this performance in ragam Gowlai.
Anandha Nadamaduvar Thillai in ragam Purvi Kalyani was gracefully performed by the girls.
The Oorthuva Thandavam in ragam Brindavani was a captivating performance. The girls who portrayed Lord Shiva were wearing Shiva's robe and danced as Shiva with ease. It was a power packed performance with graceful movements as Parvathi dancing with her partner, Shiva. Shiva Shakthi was a special performance rendered by the adult students. They did complete justice to the item with their charming dance moves.
Marking father's day, our guru, Smt Suja danced to Thanthai Kavithuvam . This was one kind of a performance where in you see a song dedicated to the love of a father. Her performance enthralled the audience and we counted ourselves lucky to have witnessed such a grand and beautiful performance with spell bound expressions!
The finale item was the Thillana in ragam Madhuvanthi in which we had many students on stage performing to this tough Thillana. This was followed by Mangalam and the distribution of awards by Shefali Desai from We Care Charity and Sumathi Naryanan from Sumathi Narayanan Education Trust. The function ended with such grace and beauty.
The event raised funds for “We Care Charity†– whose mission is to feed the hungry and nourish souls and families in crisis in New England and beyond. It was started in 2012 as an effort to lend a hand to Soup kitchen...and TODAY they serve over 3000 meals per month, feed homeless people via food programs and their own food pantry.
Overall it was well delivered annual dance show with very vibrant and disciplined students. There were no interruptions or time lag, very well organized. While just watching the program was a wonderful thing, it was amazing to the see all of the families/ friends of the students and teacher work as a single family to make this evening delightful from welcoming the folks to feeding everyone with a sumptuous meal.
For the audience, it was a visual treat to see lovely performances from tiny tots to senior students. The song choices for the evening’s dance were credible. The effort that Smt Sujatha Meyyappan has put forth in preparing the children to perform for an event like this must be greatly applauded. We will look forward to many more presentations from Kolam family in the years to come. Kudos to the organizers and volunteers!
Dancers:
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Aanya Challuri
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Hrimaya Patel
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Saanvi Naik
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Aarna Mahadevan
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Janani Shanmugam
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Sadhvi Sreeram
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Abie Uthayakumar
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Janette Jerusal
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Shreya Ambekar
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Abinayya Appusamy
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Kaviya Vijayakumar
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Shreya Rajesh
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Adhithi Venkatesan
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Lakshana Raghav
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Shriyaa Anandakumar
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Akhila Pookkunniyil
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Maanya Patel
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Shrreya Narayanakumar
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Amy Koleth
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Mahija Nukala
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Simran Patel
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Anika Mittal
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Mahitha Yerabothu
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Sinthya Kumar
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Aparna Shanmugam
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Mitali Sanjeev Gupte
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Siri Tudi
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Apoorva Kalidindi
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Mrithula Premchanth
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Smrithi Srinath
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Archana Nayak
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Mrithulaa Chandu
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Solai Alagappan
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Avni Nair
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Nanditha Prashanth
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Sree Vaishnavi
Bachiraju
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Bhavya Aeron
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Nilawi Venkat
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Srishti Srinath
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Chinmayi Venkatesan
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Niranjana Anandakumar
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Srushti Mandera
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Deepthi Bharath
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Oviya Inian
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Sruthi Ramesh
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Dhakshinya Thangavel
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Rebecca Koleth
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Sunthriiwi Venkat
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Divya Vijayakumar
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Rebecca Martha John
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Tara Ramani
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Ganya Gopinath
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Ria Patel
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Tithi Patel
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Harini Jeyaraman
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Roshini Uthayakumar
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Visali Satish
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Photography credit –
Saravanan Meyyappan
Videography credit – Venkat
Paranjothi
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