The New England Malayalee Association held a dance competition on May 3rd  2008. Over  16 teams competed for the  top spot in the junior and senior category .

Junior Category Winners – Desi Dhamaka Crew of Ms. Sahaja Surapaneni and Master Pranav Gopan from Nashua, NH.

The Desi Dhamaka Dance Crew of Sahaja and Pranav danced for the famous Malayalam Song “Matha Poothiri Pennkutti” from the famous Mohanlal film Devadhoodhan. Sahaja and Pranav regaled and won the hearts of the audience with their energetic dance moves, stage use and high expressions. The dance was choreographed by Ms Gayathri Tadi and Ms. Preeta Mani. The dance can be seen on Youtube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=8t6OnwRg1yo&feature=related

Senior Category Winners – Dazzling Dancers Ms Amoolya, Ms Kyla, Ms Sooriya, Ms Srinidhi and Ms Gunjan from Connecticut.

Dazzling Dancers performed for a medley of various famous Hindi and Tamil songs and won the competition for their sharp dressing and dance moves. The dance was choreographed by Amoolya. The dance can be seen on You tube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=P6G49BZ7jVk#

The Mangalat Sisters and Chidambaram Nrityakala Academy came in second place.

Dance competitions always elevate the level of program and New England Malayalee Associations Kalotsav 2008 was no exception.  Excellent choreographies, beautiful costumes and fabulous dancing were the hallmark of the celebration which was held at the Francis Wynman School in Burlington, MA on May 3rd 2008.

“Since its inception NEMA has made its charter to promote the talents of Malayalees and to showcase the unique cultural heritage in the New England Region” said Ajit Nambiar who is the secretary of NEMA. 

The junior competition featured Karuppana Kayalae chorepgraphed by Meena Unni, Kochum Mainakale choreographed by Udaya Rani Umesan, Alaipayuthey Kanna, choreographed by Hem Iyengar, Aplam Chapalam choreographed by Neha Parikh, Taka Taka taka choreographed by Sapna Krishnan, Bum Bum Bole choreographed by Priya M and Udaya Rani Umesan, Ek do teen choreographed by Reema Nair, Thillana choreographed by Rathi Ramachandran and Mathapoothiri Penkutty choreographed by Gayathri Tadi and Preetha Gopakumar.

The senior competition featured Sun Lo Tum choreographed by Amritha Lakshmi Mangalat, Om Namashivaya choreographed by Sapna Krishnan, Om Shambo Shiva choreographed by Rema Nair, Yarukkum Adangada Neeli choreographed by Ranjani Saigal, O re Kanchi choreographed by Neha Parikh, Tamm Thaka choreographed by Shreya Arumugum, Medley choreographed by Sundhura Sonnathi, Ramya Ghantasala and Praneetha Malipeddu and Fusion choreographed by Amoolya Narayanan.

Each piece was well done. The judges Sutanuka Debasri Basu, Sangita Raghunathan and Chaya Rangaraj said that it was difficult to choose a winner. The winners mostly chosen for the impact of the dance on the audience received a handsome amount of money and praise and applause from the audience. The rules of the competition were strictly adhered to and a team lost a lot of points due to their showing up late for the event as had been stated in the rules.

The second half of the program featured dances by Devika Nair, Gowri Vasudevan, Aishwarya Nambiar and Shanti Mechary in addition to choreographies by Shimna sameer, Udaya Rani Umesh, Meena Unni, Reema Nair and Kavya Bharthidasan . Classical dancers Hema Iyengar and Poornima Krishnan also presented a lovely Thillana.Musical presentations were made by Kavy Sebastian, Praveen Menon, Amritha and Anjana Mangalat

Overall a tremendous effort and the organizers deserve great applause for a job well done.

|