Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose

We are extremely happy that one of our senior students and company dancers Susmitha Bhat will be performing as a part of Yuva Naatyarchana for Sanatana Dharma Kendra's Mahashivaratri celebrations curated by @roopa.anand . Susmitha's performance is on March 5th at 7.00pm. Do tune in to watch her performance live. All the performances are streamed on SDK online youtube and facebook page. #bharatanatyam #offerings #indianclassicaldance #shivaratri #dance

On Feb 21, 2016, the world lost an exemplary artist, Smt Kalanidhi Narayanan who left an everlasting legacy for Indian classical dance. Her art of Abhinaya benefited not just Bharatanatyam dancers, but spanned several styles such as Odissi, Kathak, Kuchipudi etc. and her influence spread to many a corner of the world. Abhinaya Dance Company was incredibly fortunate and honored that she could come, teach and perform in our Natya Mahotsav-20th anniversary festival in 2000. Here... is a snippet of Kalanidhi Mami performing then one of her favorite Kshetragna padams where the nayika laments at her lover’s desertion ‘That was another age, this seems like another era’. (Pre-pandemic and pandemic sums it up actually!) Sung with feeling by Asha Ramesh, this performance had Rusty Gillette on the mridangam and Srikanth Chary on the veena. Also read Rasika Kumar thoughts on Mami - https://www.rasikakumardance.com//remembering-kalanidhi-ma

So wonderful to see this documentary about this amazing Guru CVChandrasekhar-Don't miss- https://www.youtube.com/watch - so glad that he came and presented his... PanchaMahaBhootam in 2001 with our students; taught 2 scenes - Vasantha (solo) Greeshma (group), and rhythms for Varsha for our RituSamhara show in 2006; and danced and choreographed for Guru Parampara in 2010 for our 30th anniversary. Thank you Guruji -ChandruAnna and Jaya Akka for your fabulous contribution to the Bharatanatyam world and for generously sharing your work with us at Abhinaya Dance Company. See more

THIRUPPAVAI #21 #ETRAKALANGAL by Vaishali Ramachandran & Mythili Kumar Lord, whose compassion brims likes pails flowing over with milk,... who lights all darkness, we surrender. We, refugees from the world, seek refuge at Your feet. Translations by Priya Sarukkai Chabria ‘ANDAL: Autobiography of a Goddess’ #Margazhi #Azhwar #Andal #Godai #Pasuram #SaintPoet #AndalsGarden #Tiruppavai #mysticsaints #Madanddivine #bhaktipoetry #GodatoGoddess #GiverofthewornGarland #SecretGarland #Naachiyar #Naachiyarnext #Dance #DanceIgers #IndianClassicalDance #Religion #Spirituality #ArtAndCulture #IndianCulture #TamilHeritage #TamilCulture #Vaishnavism

And here is the Thiruppavai link- so happy that the dance came out today and I can dedicate it to my mother who passed away Jan 4, 2020. THIRUPPAVAI 21 ETRA KALANGAL by Vaishali Ramachandran & Mythili Kumar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kba3CX3FAjA

On popular demand we are re screening our navaratri video once again this weekend. Hope you all get to watch it. It will be available on our website. https://abhinaya.org/performances/abhinaya-online/ Happy navaratri everyone! You can also watch it on our youtube channel.

We are really excited to be BACK on STAGE this weekend on Sunday Oct 25 at 2:40pm with a Live audience for the San Francisco's International Arts Festival 2020! At the Parade Ground (main stage) in Upper Fort Mason , San Francisco During this auspicious festival time of Navaratri - nine nights of worshipping the Goddess, dancers Kirtana Romfh & Aditya Romfh from our Junior dance company (directed by Malavika Walia) will be presenting a piece that depicts the graceful yet fierce Goddess Shakti who wields weapons as she destroys the demons representing the evil of the mortal world. We are happy to be performing and sharing a bill with Samudra Dance Creations on this day. Tickets available on Event Page: Abhinaya Dance Company & Samudra Dance Creations It will also be made available to you on YouTube via Livestreaming.

Students of our Junior Dance Company, Kirtana Romfh and Aditya Romfh will be performing live in San Francisco as a part of the San Fransisco's international arts festival on Sunday, October 25th at 2.40pm. Location: Parade Ground (main stage) 1 Fort Mason San Francisco, CA 94123 This will be followed by @Samudra Dance Creations, Jyotsna Vaidee. Buy one ticket to watch both the shows. Get your tickets here. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/abhinaya-dance-company-with-su

Navaratri is here!! To celebrate this, we present some of our special acclaimed compositions and a solo by @Mythili Kumar on October 17th 2020 (tomorrow) at 6.00pm. Here is the link. https://youtu.be/VxiBL8fYsk0 You can watch this on our website too. https://abhinaya.org/performances/abhinaya-online/ The video will be screening at 6.00pm and will be available only for 24 hours.

Navaratri nine nights of venerating the Goddess is around the corner! To celebrate this, we present some of our special acclaimed compositions on October 17th 2020 at 6.00pm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZwVi0eix48 This excerpt of Pushpamala, a flower offering to the Goddess choreographed as a solo by Mythili Kumar in the 90s, then for the company. In 2012, dancers Malavika Walia, Anjana Dasu, Sindhu Natarajan, Yatrika Ajaya, and Pooja Sohoni perform to a 2007 recording by Sudhaman Subramanian-mridangam, Sudev Warrier -vocal , A.V. Krishna Prasad flute) and Malavika Walia-nattvangam. Many interesting compositions like this, Durga Aparajitha and other dances on the goddess will be streamed on October 17th at 6.00pm. Save the date.

Here I am in 2012 playing the role of Gandhi as a result of being persuaded by my daughters. Rasika Kumar Malavika Walia -glad you convinced me then. This pict...ure is from the scene where a young Gandhi writes a repentant letter to his father listing all his sins, and imagines how horrified he would be upon reading it. We are screening one of our acclaimed productions, Gandhi at 6.00pm PST on October 2nd Friday. Hope you all can watch the performance. Save the date... More details to come soon.

This is the scene where people come to worship at RajGhat - Gandhi’s memorial to the strains of Mahatma Gandhi's favorite bhajan -Vaishnava Janatho Join us on... October 2nd at 6.00pm to celebrate his birthday with a special screening of our acclaimed production- Gandhi. Please save the date and hope to watch this screening with all of you. See more

Over the years, many company dancers and I have played the role of Gandhi. In 1995, Priti Radhakrishnan (now Priti Krishtel, a successful activist lawyer) play...ed the role of Gandhi with conviction, while I played the role of Manubhen, Gandhi’s grandniece. This is a picture of her with our senior dancers Radhika, Sudharani & Satyasri and our first Gandhi orchestra with Asha Ramesh - Music for Gandhi and vocals- Narayan Natarajan -Mridangam, Shanthi Narayan- violin, Tim White --Sitar, Prasad Rayasam- veena, Ravi Gutala-tabla, and Radhika Dinesh -nattuvangam. Hope you all can make it to our screening of Gandhi (Nov 2012) at 6.00pm PST on October 2nd Friday. Here is a small snippet of the performance from 1995. https://youtu.be/e0QW4-vgYuQ See more

Not every dancer likes to discard their gorgeous bharathanatyam outfit and wear a dhoti and a turban to act as Gandhi. In 2001, Radhika Dinesh (Radhika Kannan)... effectively played the role of Gandhi in our Ahimsa show where you will also see dancers Malavika Walia, Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan, Sonia Bose, Swati S.B, and guest dancers Vani Iswara & Priya Ramadoss And I, as Manubhen introduced the scenes reminiscing key incidents in Gandhi’s life. The recording was with Asha Ramesh, Narayan Natarajan, Shanthi Narayan, Ravi Gutala, and myself. We are screening Gandhi at 6.00pm PST on October 2nd Friday. https://abhinaya.org/performances/abhinaya-online/ See more

October 2nd 2020 marks Mahatma Gandhi's 151st birthday. To celebrate this occasion, Abhinaya Dance Company will be screening one of our acclaimed productions, Gandhi at 6.00pm PST on October 2nd Friday. Save the date... More details to come soon.

Congratulations to Abhinaya Board Member Suchitra Narayen who was honored with the much coveted and prestigious leadership award from the YWCA in an online event. Read below YWCA Silicon Valley’s Tribute to Women Awards is an annual YWCA fundraising event attracting over 800 attendees, including corporate and community leaders and Silicon Valley professionals. YWCA honors up to 50 women executive leaders and emerging leaders that represent Silicon Valley’s tech and business ...sectors. These women have excelled in their fields and have made significant contributions to the Silicon Valley in executive and professional roles. Tribute to Women salutes corporations whose policies and practices encourage women’s leadership and promote equal advancement opportunities for women of diverse backgrounds. When the Awards began 35 years ago, YWCA Silicon Valley recognized the achievements of 25 executive women and their companies for their commitment to expanding professional opportunities for women. This event was one of the many ways the YWCA was breaking ground in Silicon Valley. To date, over 1,300 women have been recognized for their outstanding achievements in the workplace and beyond. Wonderful achievement, Suchitra!

A standing joke in our family was - Yen palli kondreer aiyya Why did you kill the lizard?? (Palli with the soft ‘l’ meant lizard). I was supposed to have said this as a convent educated 10year old in Mumbai when my teasing uncle asked me ‘What are you learning now in dance’ referring to I’m sure you have guessed ‘Yen Pall-lli Kondeer aiyya’ Why are you lying down in repose, O Ranganaatha?’ Should I blame my teacher who sang it beautifully but never told me the words or its meaning, or our colonial rulers who left us hankering after an English medium convent school education instead of wanting to learn our mother-tongue? According to my Mama ‘Chukkumi Laguthi Pili’ was another example of ‘kollufying’ (killing, literally) Chukku Milagu Thippili-3 herbs-dried ginger, pepper, long pepper! @raslikestodance @malvicar

Here's a clip of Anjali Thakkar in practice for her performance in the Parampara festival tomorrow organised by @Natya Dance Theatre. You can catch the full performance of Artistic director Mythili Kumarar and senior students Pooja Sohoni and Anjali Thakkar at 5:30pm PDT / 7:30pm CST tomorrow 15th August. Natya's artistic director Hema Rajagopalan's workshop at 9am will be followed by Mythili Kumar's workshop on 'Varnam-its relevance to current audiences' at 10:15am PDT / 12:15pm CST (Alert! Come prepared to dance a jati from Guru Indra Rajan's repertoire!). She will be accompanied by Rasika Kumar and Malavika Walia. For tickets and more details visit Natya's page. https://www.natya.com/parampara-festival/ You will get a link to watch once you buy the ticket.