Myriad facets of performing arts showcased at Kala Samprekshana 2021

Kalakshetra’s annual dance conference dwelt on the many nuances of the performing arts

While inaugurating Kalakshetra Foundation’s ‘Kala Samprekshana - The Art of Seeing Art’, veteran dancer and MP Sonal Mansingh analysed the concept, talking about appropriateness, steadiness and focus, when the artiste transcends physicality and connects with the inner self. She quoted the examples of Balasaraswati and ballerina Margot Fonteyn, both of whom held audiences spellbound despite their ageing bodies.

The conference was set around the idea of performing art that transforms a spectator into a sahrudaya, using technique and creativity to evoke rasa. There were presentations by artistes and researchers.

Musicologist Radha Bhaskar brought out the beauty of Carnatic ragas while artist Meenakshi Madan spoke about the revival of the Chithrakathi paintings of Maharashtra. There was a short session by Kalakshetra alumnus Manasi Bhatkhande, who shared insights from her award-winning thesis, ‘Rasas in Malavikagnimitram’, which goes into the details of Kalidasa’s first dramatic work, re-imagined as a dance drama, scene by scene, with ragas, lighting, and costumes.