Bharatanatyam Arangetram

Thank you to all of our
family and friends for
attending and all those
who assisted us with
our Arangetram!
Credits
Bharatanatyam
Arangetram
Diksha Joshi
&
Kajal Patel
Choreography:
Kavita Shah
Music Recording & Vocals:
K.A. Ganeshanji,
Mumbai, India
Makeup Artist:
Images by Denise
Photography & Videography:
G.G. Video
Master of Ceremonies:
Keyoor Patel
Pooja Patel
Mehal Trivedi
Announcers:
Deepa Joshi
Chakshu Joshi
Venue, Sound & Light:
Cary Arts Center Staff
Catering:
Udupi Cafe
Sukhadia
Printing & Design:
Caterson Media
Shaily Dance and Yoga Center
Saturday, August 2nd, 2014 • The Cary Arts Center
Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance style, is a temple art form originating
in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Bharatanatyam, exhibits the three main
components of dance: ‘nritta’, or pure dance, features rhythmic footwork
patterns and beautiful abstract movements of the body; ‘nritya’, or ‘abhinaya’, is
expressional dance, featuring a vocabulary of hand gestures and facial expressions
that mime the words of the song; and ‘natya’, which depicts dramatic stories.
The lyrical content of the songs is primarily devotional or mythological, and is
sung in the Carnatic classical style.
Arangetram
The word arangetram comes from Tamil, a South Indian language, and translates
to ‘ascending the stage’. It marks the completion of the initial dance training
of the students and one’s blossoming into a dancer. This is the first time a
dancer ascends a stage and presents a full-length performance in a traditional
format with a gradual increase in tempo and challenge, called ‘margam’ or a
path. Preparation for this requires years of training, great stamina, focus and
determination from a dancer. Cultural, religious, and mythological education
plays an integral part in the dancer’s training. On this auspicious occasion, a
dancer seeks blessings of her Guru, Lord Nataraja and the audience.
The Guru
Kavita Shah, hails from a family with rich cultural
background. Director of Shaily Dance & Yoga Center,
in Apex, NC, Kavita has been teaching Indian classical
dance, semi-classical, and folk dance for more than
ten years. She has choreographed a variety of dances
at local cultural events and international festivals.
In 2005, Kavita was honored by Heritage India, a
Triangle based cultural organization. They chose
her for its ‘distinguished Indian classical dance
performer’ award, and was interviewed by the Surat
City TV Channel that same year. She has also presented workshops on classical
dance, Indian culture, and yoga at public schools, local libraries and museums.
Currently, she teaches English for Speakers of Other Languages at Creekside
Elementary School in Durham, North Carolina.
Madhurashtakam
Raga: Ragamalika Tala: Adi
Composer: Vallabhachrya ji
Language: Sanskrit
The eight shlokas of this famous
devotional shlokam describe the
exquisite sweetness of Lord Krishna.
The dancer presents abhinaya,
by depicting different stories from
Lord Krishna’s life. Whether it is about
stealing butter from the gopikas,
playing ball with His friends
or offering the knowledge of
Bhagvad Geeta to Arjuna everything about Him is sweet.
Tillana
Raga: Manirang
Tala: Adi
Tillana is a nritta piece, full of beautiful and
graceful movements and
striking poses. This is the finale in the
Bharatanatyam margam. It ends with a
charana, a meaningful verse for which
abhinaya is shown.
Mangalam
Raga: Saurashtram
Tala: Adi
This is the concluding item in
Bharatanatyam dance recital. It is like a
benediction. Here the dancers give
thanks and again salute the gods,
Guru and audience for making their
performance a success.
Varnam
Raga: Kapi
Tala: Adi
Composer: Meerabai
Language: Gujarati
This is the centerpiece,
or kriti, in the margam
where the dancers are
tested for their capacity
to perform abhinaya – expression, and
nritta. Varnam is the longest and the
most demanding item in the program,
because it requires a great deal of
stamina and concentration. The lyric
of this varnam, ‘Mukhda ni maya lagi
re’ depicts the mood of worship and
devotional love, shringara bhakti.
Kajal Patel
Kajal Patel, a senior at Green Hope High School,
began her training in Bharatanatyam with Guru
Smt. Kavita Shah when she was 6 years old. Over the
last 11 years she has learned and performed classical,
semi-classical, and folk dances with Kavita at a
variety of community events. Aside from this, she also
regularly performs Gujurati folk dances at the TGA
Holi program and Bollywood dances at Nuv Yug’s
Cary Diwali festival. Additionally, she has had the
opportunity to choreograph dances for Cary Diwali.
Along with dancing Kajal has been volunteering
for the past two years at Cary Wakemed
Hospital. She is one of eleven to be selected for
the U.S. E.P.A. and Shaw University Research
Apprenticeship Program where she has lead
many service projects in the community.
In her future, she plans to continue to perform and be a part of a college dance
team. She is grateful to have been able to pursue her passion in dance and appreciates
all those who made this Arangetram possible.
Diksha Joshi
Sri Ramchandra
Raga: Yamunakalyani Tala: Mishra Chapu
Composer: Tulsidasji
Language: Sanskrit
This very famous Ram
Bhajan ‘Sri Ramchandra Kripalu’ praises the
glories of Lord Rama. The dancer portrays
various expressions, while depicting
the divine characteristics of Lord
Rama. He holds a bow and arrow
in his hands and has won many
battles fighting against demons. He
is the most compassionate of all and
remover of all fears.
Diksha Joshi, a sophomore at Green Hope High,
has been learning Bharatnatyam for the last 8 years
as a disciple of Guru Smt. Kavita Shah. She is very
passionate about dancing and is also proficient in
Gujarati folk and Bollywood style dance. Over the last
11 years, Diksha has performed at several cultural
programs such as Cary Diwali, TGA Holi,
International Festival at Raleigh, and more. She
has also been playing the viola for 4 years and
was selected twice in the NC Eastern Regional
Orchestra competition. She enjoys reading,
singing, cooking, and spending time with her
family. Going forward, she wants to continue
dancing, choreographing, and learning other
dance styles. She feels blessed to be able to pursue her
passion and appreciates all those who have made this
once-in-a-lifetime event possible.
Pushpanjali
Raga: Natai
Tala: Adi
Before commencement of the dance performance, the
dancers pray to mother earth, gods, and welcome
their Guru and the guests with floral offerings.
Ganesha Stavan
Alaripu
Raga: Shankarabharanam
Tala: Tishram
Alaripu means ‘flowering’ which signifies
the opening of the body to prepare the dancers
for the following performances. Hence it is
a short piece with simple poses and movements.
It is a nritta piece, a pure dance.
Raga: Revati Tala: Adi
Language: Sanskrit
Lord Ganesha, the god of auspiciousness and
success, has the privilege of being the first
worshiped deity since ancient times. This
invocatory prayer is in the praise of Lord
Ganesha, to seek His blessings. Dancers offer
their salutations to Lord Ganesha, destroyer of
all obstacles.
Natesha
Kautuvam
Raga: Hamsadhwani
Tala: Chatushra Ekam
Language: Sanskrit
This dance is a devotional offering
in praise of Lord Shiva, also
known as Nataraja, lord of dance.
We bow down to Him, whose bells
make the jhana sound as He dances.
He is adorned with the moon on His
head and holds a trishula and damru.
Jatiswaram
Raga: Vasantha
Tala: Rupakam
Jatiswaram is a nritta piece in
which the performers weave
several patterns on a basic
musical composition. It is
an elegant blend of jatis
- sequence of rhythmic
footwork, and swaras musical notes, presenting
a pleasing harmony and
conveys the creation of beauty.