Nrithyanivedhan School of dance

Please tune in on Mother's day Sunday, May 9th at 5 PM (PST , California time) for this special dance event @ youtube channel & FB page of Namaha Foundation for the Arts - " Amma Anandadayini". Im happy to present for this special event with my daughters. Other wonderful bayarea artistes dance mothers & their beautiful daughters are partcipating in the same event in the honourable presence of Guru Smt. Mythilikumar. Thank you Naina Shastri & Namaha Foundation of the arts for organizing such a beautiful event for Mother's day! PC of the pictures with my daughters: Prasanna Ranganathan.

Please see Harshitha's latest choreographic work inspired by Moorchana composition of the great musicians Smt. Ranjani - Gayathri. She was inspired by this beau...tiful composition to create this choreography as " A Quest within" - A pandemic story , a state of anxiety that can be related to each & everyone of us as to how to move on & stay uplifted during these tough times. Where do we find the inspiration to move on, how do we break the barriers? Please watch the entire video patiently from beginning till end to get the essence of her presentation. A humble dedication through dance. There is no copyright infringement on this video & the dance is to be seen to get inspired. It is purely shared with the intention of staying motivated during these tough times. The music for this video is taken from youtube. Art is a great healer!! Art makes people survive what come may!! Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life! Youtube link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsh5_c5fkGo #BE INSPIRED! #neverlosehope #StaySafeStayHealthy

Today being the date of birth of my Guru Smt. Prabha Nagarajan, Im happy to share this enlightening art talk on dance with mami. This conversation was featured in the dance school event Nrithyagathi digital in December, 2020. This was the first time my Guru addressed an online platform. Thanks to the Pandemic for making it a possibility! My Guru nearing her 80's has an experience in the artform of Bharathanatyam spanning more than 6 decades but has never sought the limelig...ht & has always believed dance as a means of fulfillment and a pathway to a rich, deep, harmonious & creative personality! Guru Prabha Nagarajan will be addressing these topics in this video - * How to balance art & life? * How has Bharathanatyam transcended in the past 6 decades? * How important is BHAKTHI in learning this artform? What is BHAKTHI in Dance & how to teach BHAKTHI in young children especially nowadays? * What value does dance add to an individual & How is dance varied from all other artforms to imbibe it holistically? My sincere namaskarams & gratitude to mami on this special day. Please enjoy viewing this conversation. Best regards, Bhuvana Venkatesh. Artistic Director, Nrithyanivedhan School of Dance, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbcQMt1PjZ4

Mahashivrathri dance performance, Ardha Nareeshwara Sthuthi of my daughters/disciples Harshitha Venkatesh & Nandhitha Venkatesh in this video link - https://youtu.be/rIwYbbjbL_s PC : Prasanna Ranganathan Photoedit by Venkatesh Chathanur.

Mahashivrathiri special - Ardha Nareeshwara Sthuthi is getting premiered tonight at 9:30 p.m (PST), 11:00 a.m (IST) , in my own dance school youtube channel AND also in InsyncKathak's We D.A.N.C.E very SPECIAL episode for Mahashivrathiri - (episode 7) representing all Indian classical dance forms- Odissi, Kathak, Mohiniattam, Bharathanatyam & Kuchipudi. Please check their trailer here - ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLqGcUREMJ0) A very dear choreography of mine which I... had done in 2012 for Harshitha, happy that Nandhitha also learnt the same & both my daughters are presenting the same for the first time together. A very first video of them dancing together too! Much gratitude to Prasanna Ranganathan for the videography, Mixing & editing. Thanks so much Prasanna for your never-failing enthusiasm in making art & dance possible to be done in these tough times too for all. Words fail to express my gratitude. Music : Kalakriya, Aavahanam album. The very first time both my daughters dancing together Please watch out for both the premieres! 1. My dance school channel's Ardha Nareeshwara Sthuthi - @9:30 pm ( PST), 11:00 a.m ( IST) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIwYbbjbL_s 2. InsyncKathak's Mahashivrathiri - a very SPECIAL episode representing all Indian classical dance forms - Odissi, Kathak, Mohiniattam, Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLqGcUREMJ0

"MAATRU PRAPANNA" - Dedication series for Navrathiri! - #9 Goddess Sri Raja Rajeshwari - Sri Chakra Raja Simhaasaneshwari P.S: Missed posting during the bus...y weekend of Navrathiri. Sharing my last 2 post today for this Navrathiri series. Please see. Remembering my late Mother especially during Navrathiri season for her devotion to the various Goddesses. Amma’s most favorite song was Sri Chakra Raja Simhasaneshwari , she always used to join singing this song when anyone sings for Navrathiri & I have learnt this song from my Guru in dance when I was a teenager. I have adapted my Guru’s choreography to include my own insights on Devi & the imagery of Sri Chakra Raja Simhaasaneshwari ( The yantra & the Goddess seated on the throne with lions as the mount) Short snippet of my daughter/disciple Harshitha’s dance done in 2016 on the beautiful song Sri Chakra Raja Simhaasaneshwari .A very revered composition by Agasthiar in Raagamalika, Aadhi thaalam. Music composed for dance : Reverred Gurus Guru Sri. Narasimhachari & Guru Vasanthalakshmi Narasimhachari. Sung soulfully by the bayarea Carnatic Musician - Smt. Chandrika Pai accompanied by wonderful orchestration in Mridangam by Bala Devan, Violin by Vikram Raghukumar & Flute by Prasanna Rajan. This song is 9th in the series, please see my earlier posts in my page for my previous sharings, if you missed the same & enjoy this series. Thank you. Wishing everyone a very happy Navrathiri season!

Happy Saraswathy Pooja & Vijayadasami greetings to everyone! Prayers to Goddesses Saraswathy & Durga for strength, courage, knowledge & spiritual wisdom!

Om Shree Gurubhyo Namahah! Wishing everyone a very happy Vijayadasami! My humble namaskarams to my dear Guru Smt. Prabha Nagarajan for her invaluable teachings on art , artistry & life itself for me! Eternally in humble gratitude to you mami.

"MAATRU PRAPANNA" - Dedication series for Navrathiri! - #8 Goddess Shankari, Kanakambari, Shoolini, Baamini - Devi Namavali Remembering my late Mother especially during Navrathiri season for her devotion to the various Goddesses.... Today Im sharing one more dance video as Navrathri fridays are considered very auspicious . On these fridays my mother used to invite little girls considered as Kannika Parameshwaris - as divine little Goddesses themselves. It used to be a cheerful sight to see so many little girls dressed up in the traditional outfit of Pattu Paavadai ( Silk skirts) at our house. -------------------------------------------------------------- Devi Namavali ‘ Kaama Dhahana’ sung by my younger daughter Nandhitha Venkatesh who learnt this beautiful song from Chinmaya Mission Swaranjali Bhajans. Grateful to the Chinmaya Swaranjali teachers for teaching her the same. My young students performance done in 2018 for Vasantha Navrathiri festival at the beautiful divine ambience of Sri Kamakshi Community center, Santa Clara, CA. Performed by Vishaka, Manasvi, Lavanya, Srinidhi & Sri Siva. I will be sharing more performances on the Goddesses this year by me, my daughters/disciples & my young students. Please do see & show your support for the same in the coming few days for Navrathiri. This song is 8th in the series, please see my earlier posts in my page for my previous sharings, if you missed the same & enjoy this series. Thank you. Wishing everyone a very happy Navrathiri season! https://youtu.be/OU-TTbAtKhk

"MAATRU PRAPANNA" - Dedication series for Navrathiri! - #7 Goddess Lalitha Devi - Dhyaana Slokam - Lalitha Sahasranamam Remembering my late Mother especially d...uring Navrathiri season for her devotion to the various Goddesses. Sindhooraruna vigraham trinayanam manikya mouli spurath Thara Nayaka shekaram smithamukhi mapina vakshoruham, Panibhayam alipoorna ratna chashakam rakthothpalam vibhrathim, Soumyam ratna gatastha raktha charanam, dhyayeth paramambikam. Amma, a great devotee of Ambaal, was a repository of the knowledge of various stotrams & stotramalas. She had an amazing memory power & was even a math wizard. Her internal strength was drawn from the unwavering faith & devotion towards the Goddesses . She has taught me innumerous slokas which I unfailingly recite even till this day. She had great collections of various spiritual books/magazines. Lalitha Sahasranamam was one of Amma’s regular parayanam. Sharing Harshitha ( my daughter/disciple’s) performance on Dhyaana Slokam taken from Lalitha Sahasranamam which she performed in 2016 for Maitri fundraiser event in Bayarea,CA. Music : Vocal - Smt. Chandrika Pai Mridangam - Sri. Balaji Mahadevan Violin - Sri. Vikram Raghukumar Flute - Sri. Prasanna Rajan & Nattuvangam - Bhuvana Venkatesh I will be sharing more performances on the Goddesses this year by me, my daughters/disciples & my young students. Please do see & show your support for the same in the coming few days for Navrathiri. This song is 7th in the series, please see my earlier posts in my wall for my previous sharings, if you missed the same & enjoy this series. Thank you. Wishing everyone a very happy Navrathiri season!

MAATRU PRAPANNA" - Dedication series for Navrathiri! - #6 Goddess Annapoorneshwari - 'Annapoorne Visalakshi' Remembering my late Mother especially during Navrathiri season for her devotion to the various Goddesses.... This is dedicated to both my mother & mother-in-law who are real Annapoorneshwaris in terms of offering food to everyone who comes & to all who Annapoorneshwaris in their own accord! As a young girl, I remember vividly my mother used to make such varieties of sweets & savouries apart from the regular Sundal( special dish made for Navrathiri in South India) that was given to the Sumangalis, kids & visiting families. These goodies were made along with the feast like food preparation for Ambal when my father recites the Devi Mahatmiyam for the Nithya Poojai. It really was a festive occassion all the 10 days of Navrathiri. ---------------------------------------------------------- " Annapoorne Visalakshi - A great composition of Saint Muthuswamy Dikshithar." This song is in praise of Goddess AnnaPoorna who is the goddess of nourishment. She is described to be the one with large beautiful eyes. She holds in her hands a Ruby vessel with sweet & a golden spoon. She who is the source & witness of the entire world ,who is the wife of Lord Siva , who protects the entire mankind. Oh! Goddess Anna Poorna please bestow me with the good nourishment for health, knowledge and the intellect of the mind. Song sung by Smt.Bombay Jayashri. Choreography : Bhuvana Venkatesh Performed by my student Navya Singh at Utsaha dance event in 2018. I will be sharing more performances on the Goddesses this year by me, my daughters/disciples & my young students. Please do see & show your support for the same in the coming few days for Navrathiri. This song is 6th in the series, please see my earlier posts in my page for my previous sharings, if you missed the same & enjoy this series. Thank you. Wishing everyone a very happy Navrathiri season! regards, Bhuvana Venkatesh. https://youtu.be/p8fcZ1fzDHw

"MAATRU PRAPANNA" - Dedication series for Navrathiri! - #5 Goddess Mahalakshmi - 'Alarulu Kuriyaga' Remembering my late Mother especially during Navrathiri season for her devotion to the various Goddesses.... Sharing a short snippet of the beautiful composition of Saint Annamacharya - " Alarulu Kuriyaga " , the Goddess danced as the flowers showered! Taken from a performance in 2013. My mother celebrated Varalakshmi Poojai with great vigour & I still remember she used to draw the entire face of Goddess Mahalakshmi in the wall for the Poojai & she has even decorated a glass piece of work with Aishwarya Kolam & the projection of Goddess Lakshmi in this art work. It was a beautiful posession. I will be sharing more performances on the Goddesses this year by me, my daughters/disciples & my young students. Please do see & show your support for the same in the coming few days for Navrathiri. This song is 5th in the series, please see my earlier page in my wall for my previous sharings, if you missed the same & enjoy this series. Thank you. Wishing everyone a very happy Navrathiri season! - Bhuvana Venkatesh, Artistic Director.

Navadurgas depictions explained below - 1. Goddess Shailaputri - Daughter of a Mountain 2. Goddess Brahmacharini - Holding a Kamandalam & Rosary beads... 3. Goddess Chandraganta - Since these pictures were taken during a live performance. The exact translation for Chandraganta is having a crescent moon shaped like a bell. That particular pose was not taken. Instead here depicting the various hands, this Goddess has, in this picture. 4. Goddess Kushmanda rides on a tiger, holds a jar of honey & a weapon. 5. Goddess Skanda matha - Mother of Lord Skanda. 6. Goddess Katyayini - rides on a lion with Abhaya hastha on the right hand & holding a knife in her left hand. 7. Goddess Kaalratri - The most fierceful one, destroying demons , also denoted as Kali. This depiction goes to portray - the skull garland she wears. 8. Goddess Mahagauri - the most beautiful goddess who is very fair & white. 9. Goddess Siddhidhaatri - The one seated on a fully bloomed lotus & holding a flower in one hand . The other hand is depicted as giver of boons. Dancers in these pictures are - Bhuvana Venkatesh & Harshitha Venkatesh . PC : Anand Girish & Raju Narayanaswamy.

"MAATRU PRAPANNA" - Dedication series for Navrathiri! - #4 Goddess ParaShakthi in the form of Navadurgas - ( namely Shailaputri, Bramhacharini, Chandraganta, Kushmanda, Skandhamatha, Katyayani, Kaalratri, MahaGauri & Siddhidhaatri). Remembering my late Mother especially during Navrathiri season for her devotion to the various Goddesses.... Navadurgas depiction can be seen between the timings 3:15 - 5:37 for the Pallavi line in this song. Goddess Parashakthi symbolized as synergy of divine forces, is the universal divine mother. She is manifested in various forms such as Mahakali , MahaShakthi and Mahishasura mardhini. The choreography includes depiction of the nine form of Durgas - NavaDurgas ( namely Shailaputri, Bramhacharini, Chandraganta, Kushmanda, Skandhamatha, Katyayani, Kaalratri, MahaGauri & Siddhidhaatri)- symbolizing the synergy of divine forces of power, fearlessness, wisdom and righteousness. Sorry for the break in posting this series during the busy weekend. Loved choreographing this piece in 2017 winter with my daughter, just right after loosing my mom. Felt she gave me the energy/synergy to choreograph this powerful composition of the great composer Sri. Muralidharan . Inspiration to include the Navadurgas in this choreography came from an anecdote as to how my mom used to admire my nephew Sidharth's knowledge on all these Navadurgas who had great passion for knowing the Hindu mythology. He used to name all of them correctly in order as a toddler itself & beautifully depict them in drawing also. Thanks to his mom for showering him with this great knowledge. 'Mahakali, Mahashakthi’ taken from the album ‘Sri Chakram’ of the great composer/artiste - Sri Madurai Muralidharan, Raagam : Gowlai , Aadhi : Thaalam Choreography : Bhuvana Venkatesh , also contributed by Harshitha Venkatesh. Dancers : Bhuvana Venkatesh & Harshitha Venkatesh I will be sharing more performances on the Goddesses this year by me, my daughters/disciples & my young students. Please do see & show your support for the same in the coming few days for Navrathiri. This song is 4th in the series, please see my earlier posts in my page for my previous sharings, if you missed the same & enjoy this series. Thank you. Done for Kalpana 2018 - choreographic showcase organized by Yuvabharati. Wishing everyone a very happy Navrathiri season! best regards, Bhuvana Venkatesh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbcD5LmnJwI

Nrithyanivedhan school of dance is wishing everyone a very Happy Navrathiri season! A 10 day festival celebrated in the glory of Goddesses Durga, Lakshmi & ...Saraswathy . Prayers to the Godesses to protect us from evil & bestow us with knowledge, wealth, health & wisdom! Dancers in the season greetings : Harshitha Venkatesh & Nandhitha Venkatesh PC : Prasanna Ranganathan , Anand Girish

Let Goddess Shakthi protect us in the war within us & give us the wisdom to choose between the split of our own good & evil minds ! Oh! Goddess Durga destroy my ignorance & give me the discretion to choose the power of kindness & love over hate & despair! Let there always be victory of Good over evil in the world at all times! Yaa Devi Sarva Bhootheshu Shakthi Roopena Samsthitha Namasthasyai Namasthasyai Namasthasyai Namo Namahah! Thanks much to N Raju Narayanaswamy fo...r this wonderful capture of our performance in Kalpana 2018 - Yuvabharathi event. Dancers : Bhuvana Venkatesh & Harshitha Venkatesh. #Navrathiriwishes #GoddessShakthi! See more

"MAATRU PRAPANNA" - Dedication series for Navrathiri! - #3 Goddess Uma. Significance of 'Paali' Remembering my late Mother especially during Navrathiri season for her devotion to the various Goddesses. She used to have a practice of soaking all the various grains before the day arranging for the Navrathiri Golu doll display & put it in a brass /silver vessel near the Golu (dolls) . We used to call it as 'Paali'. As a child I will be watching over the height of the Paali a...s it grows every day for all the 10 days & it used to be a beautiful sight. At the end of the Navrathiri & after Vijayadasami day, she will mix it with water & pour it to the plants/trees in the house back to mother nature. This used to be a regular practice every Navrathiri. The significance of which is , both my guru & my mother used to say that Ambaal( Devi) resides in these sprouts & grows in them & after the victory of good over evil for 10 days, it is later returned to the Nature itself with gratitude! Today's song for the dance Im sharing is a great composition of Saint Sri. Papanasam Sivan - ' Naan Oru Vilayaattu bommaiya' . It is more like a plea to the goddess Uma asking her ' Am I a playing doll in your hands? " When I choreographed this piece quite a few years ago, it made me connect to mother nature's creation that even a flower has has it's own life cycle & I implemented the same for the line 'naanilattil pala piravi eduttu thindaadinadhu poraadhu' - I take many births in this universe only to suffer? The different births portrayed shows a flower withering away in the hot sun, a deer getting killed by a hunter, a slave doing the difficult chores, beautiful young lady growing up to an old woman & a beggar begging at every house is portrayed. Only surrendering to the goddess amidst all pleasures and pain , one can attain the true state of happiness!! Naan oru vilayattu bommaiya in raagam - Navarasa kaanada, aadhi thaalam, Sri papanasam sivan composition. Dance performed for Mahashivrathiri Naatyarchana 2014 at Sanathan Dharma Kendra temple, Sunnyvale, CA,USA. Choreography : Bhuvana Venkatesh Music : Kalakriya album presented by the artiste Smt. Priyadarisini Govind I will be sharing more performances on the Goddesses this year by me, my daughters/disciples & my young students. Please do see & show your support for the same in the coming few days for Navrathiri. This song is the 3rd in the series, please see my earlier posts in the page for my previous sharings ,if you missed the same & enjoy this series! Wishing everyone a very happy Navrathiri season! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obxroxzm_gE best regards, Bhuvana Venkatesh. The Artistic Director.

Happy Guru Purnima!