Get ready for a two week festival dedicated to dance and other forms of art celebrating Krishna's eternal companion Raadha

Get ready for a two week festival dedicated to dance and other forms of art celebrating Krishna's eternal companion Raadha

In the day and age, when contemporary western dance styles like jazz, salsa, krumping, belly dancing and jiving seems to have infiltrated our fair city, is it possible for a dance studio dedicated to celebrating a classical dance form such as Bharatanatyam to hold its own? Yes, says Rukmini Vijayakumar, artistic director and choreographer of Raadha Kalpa, a dance studio that is organising its first ever dance and other collaborative arts festival called Raadha 2010. Needless to say, the festival is celebrating Krishna's companion Raadha over several themes through dance performances and workshops over two weeks.u00a0

"Basically, this is the first year of my dance company and I am presenting my company formally through this festival that will showcase Bharatanatyam as well as contemporary forms of dance. The idea is to attract audiences across age and genre preferences. I would call it a concept dance, more cultural as opposed to pop culture," says Vijayakumar.

The name Raadha Kalpa means the concept of Raadha. Explaining the reason behind Raadha as a theme, Vijayakumar says, "Raadha is not only Krishna's eternal companion but she's also a symbol of many other things. In mythology, her search for Krishna is also an inner one: a search for one's inner Purusha Paramatma."

Not only will the dance company explore Raadha through Bharatanatyam but also through contemporary dance shows that will translate Raadha's search as a search to find the true inner self. The festival will trace Radha's friendship with Krishna in the form of storytelling sessions for children, the growth of their friendship into youthful and finally divine love through dance dramas like Raadha Rani and And Raadha Too. Other workshops include Raadha on Paper, a simultaneous dance and painting session, doll making session, a beginners Kalaripayattu workshop among others.

When asked whether Vijayakumar expects a good turnout at her festival, the theme being mostly traditional dance and other art forms, she says, "Yes we do have tough competition from pop culture and Bollywood of course. But this kind of performance has a charm of its own. Not only does it stimulate your senses intellectually but it also makes you sit back and think about it. Other than main performances, we are also trying to have performances at unusual venues like a mall and at Opus where we can attract the youth and also at children's venues like Active Canvas and Hippocampus."

Vijaykumar, who has trained extensively in Bharatanatyam and Ballet since childhood in Bangalore as well as the United States of America where she grew up initially, claims that her dance style is not really a fusion between eastern and western forms but she'd rather keep each form pure. In fact, she uses a lot of Karanas in her performances, a posture practised in ancient Bharatanatyam and revived by dancer Dr Padma Subrahmanyam in today's version, called Bharatanrityam.

Log on to: ww.raadhakalpa.in for full festival schedule
On from: October 29 to November 15
Call: 97312 61359 (Raadha Kalpa) or 4206 4969 (Indian Stage)u00a0
Or Log on to: https://www.indianstage.in/ for tickets
For Rs: 100 onwardsu00a0u00a0

Four must-dos at the Raadha festival

>>Raadha Rani Trouvaille in collaboration with Alliance Francaise de Bangalore on October 29, 7 pm
>>A Raadha Krishna duet called Raadha at Ravindra Kalakshetra on November 11, 7 pm
>>Workshop in creativity called Catch A Cloud through movement and improvisation at the National Gallery of Modern Art on November 14, 10 am
>>Grand finale performances of Raadha Rani and And Raadha Too at Chowdiah Memorial Hall on November 15, 6.30 pm