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| Arangetram Of Ramya Ramadurai |
Jayashri Srinivasan
09/16/2009
August 22, 2009 was a momentous day for Ramya Ramadurai, a student of Guru Sunanda Narayanan of Thillai Fine Arts Academy, Newton, MA. It was a bright, summer’s day and the Sorenson Center for the Arts in Babson College was festively decorated for the special occasion of Ramya’s arangetram. The rapt, capacity audience was mesmerized over the next 2 hours by Ramya’s enthralling dance. Her beautiful dancing, perfect mudras (hand gestures), evocative abhinaya (facial expressions) and obvious self-enjoyment in dancing made the show a joy to behold.
The performance began with a prayer, the Thodaya Mangala, a musical invocation in praise of the deities at the village temple of Vazhuvoor in South India, sung as a curtain raiser. This was followed by Mallari, in Gambhira Nattaii, a pure dance piece performed in three escalating speeds (Sankeerna jathi Triputa talam) with a short prayer addressed to Lord Ganesha. The exceptional quality of Ramya’s dancing was apparent here and the audience had a preview of the magnificent evening ahead of them. The next piece was the Alarippu in Rupakam Talam, this was fast-paced and perfectly executed. Ramya next danced a Jathiswaram composed by the Tanjore quartet in ragam Vasantha, a pure dance marked by complex rhythmic patterns and graceful movements. Ramya closely followed the musical nuances and created arresting visuals.
The centerpiece of the dance margam is the Varnam; this was eagerly anticipated by the audience and Ramya’s dancing lived up to everyone’s expectations. The varnam chosen by Ramya and her guru was Papanasam Sivan’s well loved Swami Naan Undan Adimai, in Nattaikurunji. This varnam depicts a young maiden’s love for and deep devotion to Lord Nataraja. The story of Markandaya and Lord Shiva’s dancing in Thillai were brilliantly choreographed and elegantly portrayed by Ramya. Performing the varnam well is a true testament of a dancer’s prowess in pure dance and mime and Ramya was able to demonstrate her exceptional abilities in this regard.
The second half of the Margam began with a delightful dance on Lord Venkateshwara of Tirumala, composed by Annamacharya, Entha Maathramuna. This is a complex piece depicting the Supreme Being presiding over the Tirumala Hills and Ramya was able to depict the devotee’s awe effortlessly. The next item was a fast-paced folk dance Kavadi Chindu in Chenchurutti. Ramya very ably portrayed the piety of a devotee, who undertakes various forms of penance in praise of Lord Muruga.
Needhaan Mechikolla Venum is a song composed by Oothukkadu Venkatasubbaier; this is a complex song depicting Yashoda’s maternal love (vatsalyam) for her young son Lord Krishna. Ramya conveyed the complex emotions in this dance with clarity and great imagination: Yashoda pretending to be exasperated by her son’s antics while displaying pride in his physical prowess and divinity. The Poorvi Tillana was a wonderful culmination to an evening of wondrous dancing; this was a fast-paced, pure-dance finale and included a short prayer addressed to the Supreme Being who is described as being the very embodiment of the sacred sound “Omâ€.
Ksheerabhdi Kanyakaku composed by Annamacharya in Ragam Kurunji was chosen as the mangalam, the performance concluded on a note of reverence with Ramya, seeking Goddess Lakshmi’s benediction for everyone.
Ramya’s wonderful dancing, blended harmoniously with the crisp nattuvangam by Sunanada Narayanan, the mellifluous singing by the vocalists Sujatha Vijayaraghavan and Ramya Rangarajan, the superbly cadenced beats of the mridangam by Murali Balachandran and melodious music emanating from the violin of Tara Anand and the veena of Durga Krishnan
Ramya, a sophomore at Newton South High School is a busy and talented student; she is an aspiring vocalist in Indian classical music, has been selected to the MMEA Junior District choir, plays the piano, and participates in theater and soccer at school. I foresee the beginning of an illustrious dancing career and I eagerly anticipate this gifted young lady’s future dance performances.
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