OU PRESENTS SOUTH
INDIAN CLASSICAL AND
CLASSICAL DANCE
TONIGHT
Courtesy of University School of Music
Courtesy of OU School of Music
INDIAN CLASSICAL AND
CLASSICAL DANCE
TONIGHT
The School of Music presents a concert of Karnatak South Indian classical music and Bharatanatyam classical
dance on the University of Oklahoma Norman campus
as part of the Masala World Music Series.
The concert is scheduled for 8 p.m. March 24, in Sharp Concert Hall of
the Catlett Music Center and features two regional artists, Lavanya
Raghuraman, of Stillwater, OK and Poovalur Sriji from Denton, TX.
An educational workshop is scheduled for 4 p.m. March 24, and is open to the public with complimentary admission. Both
artists are quite articulate about their music and dance and able to connect meaningfully with audiences.
Karnatak Music features vocalist Raghuraman accompanied by Sriji on the mrdangam barrel drum. The duo will play classic
compositions from the 18th to 20th century repertoire of karnatak classical music of South India.
Karnatak music features melodic modes called
raga and rhythmic cycles called tala. Performance of songs in the genres of
kriti and varnam praise the array of Brahminical Hindu
deities such as Vishnu, Genesh and Saraswathi. The lyrics of the pieces
in the languages of Sanskrit, Telugu, and Tamil are introduced and
followed by forms of melodic and rhythmic improvisation.
These include alapana, free metered exposition of the raga mode,
niraval, expansive improvisation on a line of text, svara kalpana, improvisation on melodic pitch names (sa ri ga ma pa da ni) and finally
tani avartanam, drum solo. Some of the pieces will only include a short
alapana exposition of the raga, while the third piece will include multiple forms of improvisation.
Bharatanatyam Dance is the world renowned classical dance of South India. Once called
nautch or sadir, its control and repertoire shifted in the mid-20th
century from the matrilineal hereditary dance families of Devadasis,
such as those of the renowned Tanjavur Balasaraswati (1918-1984) family,
who performed in palaces
and temples, to the middle class Madras Brahmin community led by
Rukmani Devi Arundale (1904-1986).
Devi established the Kalakshetra School reviving the dance with the repertoire focused on the deity Nataraj, a more
masculine or athletic style with extensive use of jathiswaram (pure dance without emotion), and
calling it bharatanatyam (literally India’s dance). Balasaraswati’s descendants continue to perform their family
repertoire focused on Krishna, using the erotic sringara rasa or mood, and deep expressions of
bhava and abhinaya (expressive storytelling using hand and
face gestures). While, many other Devadasis either stopped dancing or
became singers or instrumentalists, such as the famous M.S.
Subbulakshmi.
Raghuraman, performs the vocal and dance and
is
the founder-director of Alapana Arts, a music and dance institution
based in Oklahoma. She is a leading disciple of the esteemed
Dhananjayans and trained in the 'kalakshetra' style of Bharatanatyam.
She is granddaughter of Sangita Kalanidhi Dr. S. Ramanathan and trained
in karnatak music by her mother, Guru Smt. R. Banumathy. A gifted
individual with multi-faceted talents, she is an
accomplished bharatanatyam dancer, karnatak music vocalist and
violinist rolled into one. A critic writing for
The Hindu newspaper describes Lavanya as “a graceful and competent dancer with clear footwork.”
Lavanya’s performances at
prestigious cultural venues and festivals in Singapore, Malaysia, India,
Australia, and the USA have received wide acclaim and laudable reviews
in
The Hindu. She is the recipient of the title of “Natya Chudar”
from Kartik Fine Arts, Chennai, as well as “Natya Visharad” from SIFAS,
Singapore. Following her formal Arangetram, Lavanya’s solo performances
had their beginnings at The Natyanjali Festival,
Chidambaram and she has performed regularly at the Chennai Music and
Dance Festival for over a decade. As a choreographer, her thematic
productions on unique themes such as “Nagareshu Kaanchi,” “Alchemy of
Opposites,” and “Neythal” at Esplanade, Singapore,
have been internationally acclaimed and presented to sold-out
audiences.
Lavanya recently completed a Singapore-India-USA tour of her
latest production ‘Retracting the Path – Margam’ which premiered
at Kalakshetra, Chennai among other prestigious global venues. Through
lecture demonstrations, master classes, workshops and
seminars at institutes of higher education including the Yong Siew Toh
Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore, University of
Central Oklahoma, and University of Oklahoma, Lavanya shares her
thoughts on karnatak music and bharatanatyam and their
propagation in the purest form. She is also a graduate of The Fuqua
School of Business, Duke University and is currently based in
Stillwater, Oklahoma with her husband, Dr. Balaji Jayaraman.
Sriji, performs on the
Mrdangam drum and
is
a prolific composer, performer, educator, and 'A' top grade artist
recognized by
All India Radio. He studied South Indian classical karnatak music from
his father P.A. Venkataraman. For over four decades Sriji has performed
with the leading artist of both South and North Indian classical
traditions. Since his move to the United States
in the 1980s, he has performed and recorded with artists such as Sir
Yehudi Menuhin, Bela Fleck, Mark O’ Connor, John Bergamo, and Glen Velez
to name a few. Sriji has received several awards from leading
institutions, and the album
Tabula Rasa, for which he composed and performed with Bela Fleck,
V. M. Bhatt and J.P. Chen, was nominated for a Grammy. He has composed
many pieces portraying the South Indian idioms and is the founding
member of the world fusion group
'Brahmah'.
He also founded and directed the 'SNEW' and the 'South Indian Cross
Cultural Ensemble’, the first such world music ensembles in United
States. He is currently a faculty member at the University of North
Texas, where he conducts “the bridge” ensemble. He has
also taught at CalArts and San Diego State University.
Tickets for the
Karnatak South Indian classical music and Bharatanatyam classical dance
concert
may
be purchased in advance for best prices by phone at (405) 325-4101, or
in person through the OU Fine Arts Box Office, located
in the Catlett Music Center, 500 W. Boyd St., Norman.
