Nakshatra Dance Festival – Day 1

Samaahaaram
Mohiniattam by Jayaprabha Menon & Troupe
Sattriya

By Ramkrishna Talukdar

An NCPA Presentation

Jayaprabha Menon is an accomplished dancer and has brought a new aesthetic to Mohiniattam with her graceful stage presence. Even as she is rooted in tradition, her themes are contemporary and her interpretations, bold and novel. Initiated into Indian classical dance by Kalamandalam Saraswathi and her organisation Nrityalaya in Kerala, Menon is also a disciple of Bharati Shivaji. Additionally, she has trained in Bharatanatyam under C. V. Chandrasekhar. At present, she is researching the regional paata patterns of Kerala under the guidance of Kavalam Narayana Panicker. She has performed widely in India and abroad. A grade ‘A’ artiste of Doordarshan, she is also an empanelled artiste of the ICCR. She is a recipient of a production grant for choreographing Kundalini from the Department of Culture, Government of India, as also the department’s Junior Fellowship and Senior Scholarship.

Samaahaaram is a collection of presentations in the Sopanam style of Mohiniattam presenting a balance of nritta, nritya and natya. The production explores the kinetic energy and grace of Mohiniattam which slowly moves in an undulating pattern highlighting the unique rhythm of Kerala’s percussion adorned with angika abhinaya. Commencing the performance with invoking the blessing of Ganesha, Samaahaaram is an ode to the beauty and uniqueness of Mohiniattam.

Ramkrishna Talukdar is an eminent Sattriya dancer, choreographer, teacher and author. He received his initial training under Dharanidhar Bayan and subsequently trained with Gobinda Saikia, Raseswar Saikia Barbayan, Ghana Kanta Borbayan, Ananda Mohan Bhagawati and Jatin Goswami. He also studied Kathak and earned a postgraduate degree from  Rajkumari Indira Singh Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya in Chhattisgarh. Over a distinguished career spanning several decades, he has performed, conducted seminars and workshops, and choreographed dance-dramas for prestigious festivals in India and abroad, particularly the UK and Kuwait. An accomplished author, he has written Nrityakala Darpan, a book on Sattriya dance. Currently a faculty member at LKRB State College of Dance and Music, Guwahati, he has trained students from India as well as Belarus, Japan and the US. His numerous honours include the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2017), Asom Gaurav, Sangeet Jyoti, Nritya Ratna and Kala Gaurav.

This Sattriya dance presentation celebrates the rich spiritual, literary and performative heritage of Assam’s classical dance tradition, rooted in the neo-Vaishnavite philosophy of Srimanta Sankardev. Through a vibrant repertoire of abhinaya, borgeet, ankiya naat traditions and pure dance, the performance explores timeless narratives from the Ramayana, Bhagavata Purana and the ten incarnations of Vishnu. Each composition reflects the distinctive aesthetics of Sattriya through expressive storytelling, rhythmic precision, devotional music and graceful movement vocabulary.

Box Office: 09th September for Members & 12th September for Public.