It was a beautiful fall evening in the New England area with magnificent fall colors all around. Fall is not only beautiful to look at, it's filled with fun and entertainment.At this time the Sarasa Natya Academy family was bubbling with excitement.

The prestigious Sarasa Natya Academy under the guidance of the Artistic Director Smt Preethi Ramesh conducted its seventh annual day on November 2, 2019 at the Chinmaya Maruti Auditorium, Andover.
 
It was indeed a significant day for the students of the SNA dance school as they eagerly anticipated to showcase their talent on stage to their proud parents, Guru and other Rasikas.

The annual day was graced with the presence of two esteemed Chief Guests.

SNA had the honor to have the Artistic director and Founder of the Amudhasri Dance School, Smt Kalaimangai Anabalagan, as one of the chief guests.

The other special guest was the talented Carnatic singer, founder and Artistic director - Smt Uma Sankar from Sruthilaya school of Music.

Both Kalai ji and Uma ji were totally engrossed in the event with great enthusiasm. They greatly encouraged and motivated the students of SNA with their speech and inspiring personal experiences which captivated the audience as well.

I was fortunate to anchor this gala event for the dance school and be a part of this awe-inspiring event. This enabled me to notice all the hard work that went behind this triumphant event. The parents, volunteers, technicians, students and their families worked as a single unit to make this event a grand success.

Margam means a path or a course followed. It is one full definite course where in dance items are performed in a traditional order. The items that are included are Pushpanjali, Mallari, Alarippu, Jatiswaram, Shabdam, Varnam, Padam,

Strotram/Ashtapadi, Keertanam, Tillana and Shloka or Verse.

The theme of that evening was Margam which is a very powerful and charming theme.

The performances were based on the nrtta , abhinaya, taala , raga , bhaava , rasaa  and laya  depicting "The Margam " in every magnificent way possible !

The first few presentations were Mallari, Ganesha Kauthuvam and Natesha Kauthuvam in various ragaams and thaalams portraying students with different competencies and experience.  

Aadinaye Kanna by Ambujam Krishna was a performance filled with graceful expressions emoting the playful Krishna dancing along with the Gopikas. This song was very elegantly performed by senior students of SNA.

Next the budding young students gave a delightful performance on Slokam based on Lord Ganesha , Saraswathi , Lakshmi and Shiva. The beginners were very energetic and delivered a fascinating performance.

Natanam Aadinaar in Vasantha set in Misra chapu thalam was the next item. The dancers gave a power packed performance with expressions unmatched along such ease and grace. They delivered the challenging steps with amazing gestures and movements.

Pushpanjali , Allaripu  and Jatiswaram were the next items that kept the audience rapt in melodious Aarabhi and Saveri ragams.

Varnam is the central piece in a Margam to test the dancer's strength and stamina. There was a rare Dharu varnam in ragam Kamas on Goddess Devi describing her birth and marriage and how she killed Mahishasuran. Dharu Varnam is such a unique piece which is rarely performed at any events due to its complexity. Kudos to the senior students and the teacher for a brilliant choreography and delivery of this Dharu varnam! Their colorful costumes and great foot work coordination added to the grandeur of their stupendous performance !

Kuzhaloodi manamellam was an audience favorite in ragam Kambhoji. This well-known Oothukadu Venkata Subbaiyer kriti was well received.

Vaishnavi performed Bho Shamboo flawlessly. It was performed by her in a splendid way. She was very expressive and her performance was creditable.

This song set in ragam Revathi is a challenging song with infinite scope for creativity and skill for the dancer. Vaishnavi truly brought out the rhythm of the dance of creation and destruction depicting the cosmic dancer who is the blissful Lord Shiva!

Anjana gave a splendid performance for a Pada varnam on Lord Murugan.This was a complex dance piece and was delivered very radiantly.She conveyed the song in an admirable way and emoted her love for Lord Muruga. Her performance was truly divine and classy! Her elegant moves and beautiful expressions gave a lot of life to the song and uplifted the song to a different level.

Devi Stuthi in ragam Simhendramadhyam was performed by Priyanka. She gave a fabulous delivery bringing out the beauty of Devi and how she killed Mahishasuran. Her expressions were greatly appreciated and applauded.

It was then time for some folk songs. Brhamam Okade in Bowli is a folk song on Lord Venkateshwara. This was vibrantly delivered by the dancers with captivating colorful costumes.

The folk dance pieces in Kavadi Chindu style was yet another astounding performance by the adults group. The folk dances were truly a treat to our eyes singing to the praise of Lord Skandha. The Kavadi dance

Azhagu Deivamaga Vandu in Senchurutti was not to be missed . It was a unique creative performance with amazing coordination from the ladies. They danced with such grace carrying the colorful Kavadis. These folk dances were enchanting and kept the audience spellbound. This was the final item and a fitting end to the gala program!

The grand finale was the Mangalam on stage which staged all the talented students and the Guru striking a picturesque pose. This was in turn followed by Trophies and Certificate distribution to the students. 

Overall it was an outstanding annual dance show with brilliant choreography teamed with vibrant costumes and perfect hairdo/makeup.

For the audience, it was a visual treat to see lovely performances from tiny tots to senior students. The effort that Smt Preethi Ramesh 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 the SNA family in the years to come.

Kudos to the organizers and volunteers!
 

Photo Credits - Sri. Jeyakumar Sathyamoorthy
Video Credits - Sri. Raj Kumar

Pictures to be included - https://dazzle.smugmug.com/FormalEvents/2019/Preetha-SarasaNatyaAcademyAnnualday/Lokvani/

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