I teach
Bharathanatyam and Carnatic Vocal Music in Fairfax, VA at the In Step
School of Dance. Please click here to view my flyer
for class timings and schedules. Thank You!
I was a dance teacher at St. Patrick's Anglo Indian High School in Chennai.
I also teach Bharathnatyam and Carnatic Vocal music at Anthara.
An Impressive Article about Prathima's Dance Performance
Vivacious Stage
Presence - K.N. Prathima
What are the qualities that one looks for in a dancer? Posture, grace,
style, expressiveness? And over time- maturity and confidence? A dancer
is judged not only by what she is today, also by the potential she
exhibits for the future. K.N.Prathima is one such talented dancer.
Having been under a galaxy of the best tutors in the field, namely, the
Dhananjayans, Smt.Savithri Jagannathan and currently under
Smt.Saraswathi Sundaresan, Prathima has imbibed the best from all of
them.
Her programme in Chennai recently was marked by a long list of items starting with a Panchamurthi Kauthuvam in ragamalika, talamalika, composed by Vijayaraghavan and followed by Kalinga sabdam by the same composer. ‘Kandum kaanadhadu pol’, a padam in Sahana ragam, again by Vijayaraghavan, had a despondent nayika pining for Shiva; Prathima’s delineation was fairly convincing. She excelled in the varnam- her nritta or pure dance was very rigorous and the bhakthi-laden abhinaya describing Shiva in all his splendour, was well portrayed. Of particular interest, was the description of the five elements - the panchabhootam that are present on Shiva’s form. The varnam, ‘Konjum salangai tigalum’ in Lathangi ragam, Adi talam, is a composition of Madurai N. Muralidharan.
The soothing effect of Krishna’s flute, on the flora and fauna, was the subject of a lighthearted padam tuned by Dr.Balamuralikrishna in ragamalika. ‘Govindan kuzhal osai kaite’ in Adi talam was embellished with small jathi korvais and handled with the cheery disposition that it warrants. The pick of the padams was ‘Arivein aiyah un andha rangam’ in Atana ragam, when the nayika is angry over the nayaka’s wanton behavior. The khandita nayika is also sarcastic, ‘I know all about you now.’ The dancer was able to emote without overdoing it, as many are wont to do. Less is always more where abhinaya is concerned. The last was a sprightly thillana, a composition of Dr.M.Balamuralikrishna in Brindavani ragam, Adi talam.
The orchestra was not very inspiring that evening, a let down mainly
because of the vocalist, Meenakshi Srinivasan. Percussion by
Padmanabhan and nattuvangam by the guru were handled satisfactorily.
Nagarajan was melodious on the violin. Prathima, resplendent in an
orange-purple short sari costume, seemed more at home in nritta than in
abhinaya; in the former her sense of timing, good footwork and carriage
gives her an edge. A discard of self-consciousness perhaps will help
the dancer in developing her style of expressive fluency.
Coutesy http://www.thehorizons.com/review/rev69.htm
Another Photo of Prathima in a group dance.
Incase you have not
found her in the photo, she is the one standing on one leg in the right
with her hands over her head!More to come!!!