The Kalakshetra repertory company celebrates its 75th anniversary by performing at NCPA next week.
Kalakshetra, a dance company which revived Bharatnatyam in the first half of the 20th century, is being honoured on the occasion of its 75th anniversary by the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA).
During August 25-27, India’s largest and oldest dance school, the Kalakshetra repertory company, will delineate the past, present and future of Bharatnatyam. Rukmini Devi, who is revered for reinventing the devadasi dance form of Sadir and moulding it into Bharatnatyam, founded Kalakshetra in 1936 after her first performance at the Theosophical Society in Adyar, Madras.
This programme is being organised as part of a larger initiative by NCPA to bring India’s finest dance schools to Mumbai every year, taking the institution beyond performance, while engaging and educating Mumbai audiences about various dance schools.
The idea is to bring the intangibility of an institution (which lies in its “immovableness” as a building, a space, a structure and a visual memory) to a tangible presentation, by taking the audience “through a journey of what an institution stood for, and what it aims for”.
With this “pioneering initiative”, dance enthusiasts can look forward to an “authentic extravaganza”, including not only performances by dancers of the Kalakshetra repertory company, but also a video presentation, a special lecture performance for schoolchildren and a panel discussion. Leela Samson, director of Kalakshetra, will also be present for the occasion. She will present the talks and discussions, and perform alongside her students.
“It has been quite a while now since NCPA last hosted this dance academy. For 75 years, this school has upheld the highest standards of excellence in dance and has been a source of inspiration for Indian dancers not just in India but around the world,” says Amrita Lahiri, head, programming, NCPA (dance), who has spent a year learning the craft from Samson in Kalakshetra. Lahiri adds, “With jazz, salsa and ballroom dance catching on, a lot of people are of the opinion that there are no takers for Bharatnatyam.
| Date | Programme | Time | Place | Tickets |
| 25-Aug | Under the Banyan Tree: 75 years of Kalakshetra | 7:00 PM | Experimental Theatre | Rs 200, Rs 300 |
| 26-Aug | Dance Matters: content, context and core of dance in India today — panel discussion | 3:00 PM | Little Theatre | First come, first served |
| 27-Aug | Spanda and solo by Leela Samson — dance performance | 7:00 PM | Jamshed Bhabha Theatre | Rs 300, Rs 400, Rs 500 |
I don’t quite agree with that perception. You should see the amount of enthusiasm among Indians in the USA. Every second household sends its kids to learn Bharatnatyam. You may not like the dance form at first sight, but Bharatnatyam is like a gourmet food: the more you watch it, the more you will learn, and then gradually you will start liking it. This initiative of NCPA,
I hope, will do just that.”
