NLD's 2020 Accomplishments

Namaskarams to all of you from The Darpan Gazette. We would like to wish you a Happy New Year! Irrespective of the pandemic that we all are sailing since the first quarter of 2020, Nritya Laya Darpan has come together for so many accomplishments virtually. To keep up with the latest technology, we have decided to take the newsletter live on a google site where we can host not only the latest updates on upcoming events but also archive our past newsletters and bring to you more on games and mythological stories throughout this year.

2020 has been a roller coaster of an year with the launch of workshop series, Darpanaa, the concert series, Nritya Sudharnava, and our very own newsletter, The Darpan Gazette :D. We are very grateful to our Guru for giving us an opportunity to cover this eventful year and share it with everyone at NLD.

We want to thank all of you for continuing to support each and every event this past year. From the Arudra festival on January 11th of 2020 all the way to January 2 of 2021, all the families of NLD have supported and cheered by attending the various events however big or small.

To cherish these memories we have put together a video of this past year and how we were able to dance our troubles away. Please continue to pour in your support in large numbers by clicking that subscribe and share button. Also, please bookmark this newsletter site for future updates that will be published here.

Nritya Sudharnavaa~Nectarine Ocean of Dance

NLD's most recent accomplishments has been the launch of a concert series, Nritya Sudharnavaa- Nectarine Ocean of Dance. There has been one previous concert, by Varsha Punati, and now the latest concert by Shriya Krishnan. Shriya Krishnan is a sophomore at Dublin High school. Shriya has been learning Bharatanatyam under the training of Guru, Artistic Director of Nritya Laya Darpan Smt. Sudha Krishnan since 2017. Shriya is also learning Carnatic music from Dr. Sri Shiv Kumar Bhat (Bay area).

For Shriya Bharatanatyam is an astonishing art form that gives body and mind awareness when practicing. Her admiration for Bharatanatyam has been growing ever since she joined Nritya Laya Darpan. And also, being a carnatic music performer immensely helps her to understand and appreciate the tala and laya aspects of Bharatanatyam. Shriya aspires not to just do an arangetram but also to be able to dance like her guru Smt Sudha Krishnan.

Shriya has performed for different events in bay area. She has had the privilege to undergo workshops from eminent artistes such as Smt. Viraja and Sri. Shyamjith Kiran, Sri. Vaibhav Arekar and Dr. Sridhar Vasudevan to name a few.

Impressive performance by Shriya Krishnan

By Swara Krishnan

Shriya Krishnan gave and impressive 30 minute solo Bharatanatyam recital with utmost dedication and devotion under series Nritya Sudharnavaa-Nectarine Ocean of Dance, on January 2nd, of 2021. Her performance not only showcased what she has been working on, but also laid out her potential to grow into a fine artist. The concert was presided over by Acharya Smt. Gayatri Subramanian, and her sangeeta Guru Dr. Shri. Shivkumar Bhat.

She commenced her recital with a mallari, in the ragam Gambheera Nattai, and set to Taalam Adi. This fast paced invocation set the tone for the excitement of the program. She had learned this piece in a workshop taught by Guru Shri. Shanmuga Sundar.

She continued her recital with a Jathiswaram. This Nritta based piece with intricate adavus was etched in a clean manner. This Jathiswaram was a traditional Tanjore Quartet composition, set in ragam Saveri and taalam Rupakam, choreographed by her Guru Smt. Sudha Krishnan.

For her third piece, she chose a shabdam which is a lyrical composition that is introduced in a bharatanatyam margam as a preliminary in learning nuances of abhinaya, mainly Shringaara bhava. This shabdam is set in Ragamalika and Mishrachaapu taalam, and choreographed by her Guru Smt. Sudha Krishnan.

Shriya concluded her recital with a padam, Natanam Adinar. This padam praises the lord Shiva, and his attributes. Shriya expressed the lord shiva beautifully, bringing the lyrics to life. This piece is set in the ragam Vasantha and taalam Adi, choreographed by her Guru Smt. Sudha Krishnan.

Experience in the words of the Performer

"This performance was honestly an amazing experience for me; the practice sessions, the improvements here and there, the performance- everything. I am grateful to Sudha Aunty for guiding me and teaching through this, and I’m also extremely thankful for everyone’s support as well. I was honored to be able to dance in front of our Paramaguru Srimati Gayathri Subramaniam and my music teacher Sri Shivkumar Bhat. Kudos to the Gazette team for the wonderful video presented as well- I enjoyed it a lot! I hope I will be able to get more opportunities like this to improve and grow in this art form."

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Gazette No.4~Decennary Edition