Chitra Arvind presented a fabulous dual Bharatanatyam and Kathak dance repertoire at the Sri Lakhsmi Temple in Ashland, MA on Sunday, 5th May. The presentation was an absolute delight for dance connoisseurs as this beautiful dancer set the stage ablaze with her perfect Nritta and creative Abhinaya in two different styles of dance.  

She opened with a lovely Ganapathi Stuti in the Ragam Brindavana Saranga set to Adi Talam.  From the get-go her energy and clearly sculpted movements held the audience spellbound. Mahalakshmi in Ragam Kambhoji and Misra chapu talam depicted the Ashtalakshmi’s. The story of Ksheerasagara Manthanam where Lakshmi emerges from the ocean of milk and marryies Vishnu was creatively choreographed. 

Kele Gopi, a composition of the Kannada saint poet Sri Purandharadasa portrayed the different leelas of Krishna through the complaining Gopi's words. The Gopi angrily complains to Yashoda that Krishna not only stole and ate up all the butter and curds but also broke all the pots and messed up the houses of the other gopikas. With those butter hands he smeared the cheeks of the beautiful young gopikas who were innocently going their way. However he also lifted the Govardhana and saved all from the wrath of Indra.  A ragamalika composition, it was choreographed by  Smt.Lalitha Srinivasan

 

A unique piece called Ranga Geete in praise of Nataraja followed. “This is traditional opening number in several traditional theatrical presentations in Karnataka. My teacher imported this into Bharatantayam” said Chitra. A very Nritta intensive piece, it beautifully depicted the Tandava of Lord Shiva. 

Shri Ramachandra Kripalu Bhaja in Ragam Pantuvarali and Misra chapu talam followed.  The Gambeeram of Rama was very forceful brought forth and clearly contrasted with the grace of Sita. A lovely Hamsanandi Thillana dedicated to Goddess Tripura Sundari brought the Bharatanatyam portion to a close. 

 

The Kathak portion opened with Shankara Mahadeva  in praise of Lord Shiva. This piece portrayed the Tandava and Lasya aspects, as well as the story of Markandeya.  The piece was in Raga Puriya Dhanashri and Ek Taal. It was hard to believe that Chitra had just completed an entire Bharatanatyam presentation. Her transition was smooth and seamless. Ras Barse,  a bandish treated as a thumri portraying a virahotkanthia nayika in Raga Hamsadhvani and Yeman and Teen taal

choreographed by Gurus Moulik Shah and Ishira Parikh was quintessentially the representation of a graceful Kathak presentations. 

 

A composition of the Kannada saint poet Sri Purandhara dasa the dasavatara desribes the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki brought the Kathak section to a close. 

 

The dance presentation was definitely one of the finest the New England area has seen.  Chitra draws from her experience in multiple dance forms to enhance each presentation while sticking strictly to the grammar of each style. 

We look forward to seeing more of the artist’s presentation in the future. 

About Chitra Arvind

Chitra is  trained in Bharatanatyam under Guru Smt.Lalitha Srinivasan, Guru B.Bhanumati and Guru Smt.Padmini Ravi, she is a rank holder in BA Choreography from the Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography, Bangalore. She trained in Kathak under Guru Dr.Maya Rao, Guru Smt.Chitra Venugopal; and Moulik Shah and Ishira Parikh, Ahmedabad.

Chitra was invited to work in London for seven years with leading contemporary dance choreographers including Shobana Jeyasingh (Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company), Wayne Mc Gregor (Random Dance Company) and Laurie Booth as a performer, teacher and rehearsal director. There, she had the opportunity to acquire skills in the Indian martial art forms of Kalaripayattu, Chhau and Thang Tha; Modern dance techniques including Graham, Cunningham and Release; and has completed a Choreography course from the Place Theatre, London. She has toured the UK, USA. Europe, South East Asia and South Africa extensively and won accolades for her performances.

Chitra trained in Carnatic Vocal and Instrument Veena under the able guidance of her mother Smt.Rama Srishailan. She has a Masters degree in History from the Mysore University. She has worked with eminent dance gurus and choreographers and has performed in various prestigious dance festivals in India and abroad. She also imparts dance training to the hearing impaired students of SKID, Bangalore.

Chitra Arvind represents a vibrant new generation of dance makers. Her approach to choreography is ingenious, fresh and inspiring. She fuses Indian dance culture with highly individual sounds of the artists to produce works that are innovative and bang up-to-date. Chitra's love and passion for dance is seen in her works created at Rhythmotion.