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Nritya Tarang
A Kuchipudi Performance
Part of the ‘All for Dance’ Series
Performer
In ‘Nritya Tarang’, Amrita performs a varied repertoire representing the works of many choreographers in the Kuchipudi style, including classic works from the dance-drama tradition, as a well as a Tarangam, in which the dancer performs rhythmic patterns on the edge of a brass plate, a trademark of Kuchipudi Nritta.
There is a certain dramatic quality, precision and spontaneous energy that makes Kuchipudi so exhilarating to watch. With roots in yakshagana, a folk theatre form, it is one of the eight classical dance forms of South India based on the ancient Sanskrit text, Natya Shastra. This dance drama was named after a village in Andhra Pradesh, where it was performed by the Brahmin villagers and began as an all-male performance art. Like other Indian classical dance forms, Kuchipudi employs the use of mudras (hand gestures), abhinaya (emphatic facial expressions), rhythmic footwork and music to tell the story. But it is identified by its brisk, complex moves, lilting rhythms, and sensual curves, and dramatic expressions. Dancers such as Amrita Lahiri, who is known for her physicality and sprightliness, add their own sense of aesthetics to the dance. She has also been praised for bringing a new dimension to the dance form.
Musicians:
Sujesh Menon – Vocals
Kaleeshwaran Pillai – Nattuvangam
Satish Krishnamurty – Mridangam
Mangalam Vaidyanathan – Violin
In collaboration with:
In association with:
Performer
Amrita Lahiri
Amrita Lahiri began dancing at age 7 in Washington, D.C. studying under Anuradha Nehru until she shifted to New Delhi at age 15. After her solo debut at the India International Centre in New Delhi in 1996, she continued to perform Kuchipudi, and also started learning Bharatanatyam under Leela Samson. While in New Delhi, Amrita studied under Swapnasundari and Seetha Nagajothy (a senior student of Vempati Chinna Satyam). In Chennai, she studies with Kishore Mosalikanti. Her dance reflects the influences of all of these outstanding gurus, and the experience of many performances.
Amrita has a Masters in Sociology from JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi). She has worked for leading arts organizations such as the British Council, New Delhi; Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C.; Seher, New Delhi; Museum Rietberg, Zurich; and Kalakshetra, Chennai. She was the head of the dance department of National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai (NCPA), where she curated and managed over 200 dance performances, workshops and master classes, developing enthusiastic new audiences in Bombay for the genre. Since 2019, she is a curator for the new Jio World Centre in Mumbai. Through her performances, writings, workshops and choreographies, Amrita strives to expand and share the specific beauties of the dance form. She lives in Mumbai with her two sons.
