Nalanda Dance Research Centre(Mumbai) has organised the Nalanda Nrityotsava, the young dancers festival for four days, commencing from 11th January at Kalangan of Ravindra Natya Mandir, Mumbai. Twenty-one classical dancers from various parts of the country will participate in this much awaited annual festival featuring young dancers in different styles.
Dr Kanak Rele, Founder Director of Nalanda Dance Research Centre says “This festival is organised every year to encourage young dancers below the age group of 35. Dancers are quite excited to perform in this festival as it is a wonderful platform to showcase their talent”.
Dr Kanak Rele, Dr Uma Rele-Principal of Nalanda Nritya Mahavidyalaya and the Nalanda team select dancers from several applications that pour in every year. The dancers who excel are given the title of Nalanda Nritya Nupuna which is really instrumental to enhance the professional growth of the dancer. This year Sattriya dance and Yakshagana of Karnataka has also been included.
Another important aspect of the festival is the declaration of the Nalanda Bharata Muni Samman for veterans in the field of performing arts. This year the proud winners are Shanta and VP Dhananjayans for Bharatanatyam, Dr Prabha Atre for Hindustani classical music and Vikram Gokhale for theatre. The awards will be presented on 13th January, which carries a citation and a cash prize of Rs 50,000.
The dancers on the first day are Manava Bhagwat, Akhila Krishnan, SSR Koundinya, Devaki Rajendran and Tamanna Tanna. the second day features Sukanya Kumar, Varsha Dasgupta, Sandra Radhakrishnan, Naveen Hegde and Priya Samarth.
The third day of the festival has Unnati Ajmera, Shruti Ashokan, Kankana Singh, Divya Bhat, Krishanakshi Kashyap performing Sattriya dance of Assam and Kiran Ulal performing Yakshagana of Karnataka. The last day 14th January has Arunima Basu, Atanu Das, Ruchi Krishna, Mitali Varadkar and Kathak by Sunil Sunkara. The dances that dominate the festival are Bharata Natyam and Kathak.
