100 artistes to perform 33 dance styles from across the country

BENGALURU: Dr Sanjay Shantaram and Rathna Supriya are two dancers on a mission. The two have collaborated and choreographed the production Apoorva Bharatam, but what makes the production special? It will feature 100 dancers who will perform 33 Indian dance forms, including folk and classical forms such as Bihu from Assam, Karaga Kavadi Puliattam from Tamil Nadu, Bhangra and Garbha and Ghumar from Rajasthan. The dancers share that they hope to educate children and inculcate a sense of patriotism through
their performance.

Dr Shantaram, artistic director of Shivpriya School of Dance and Music, says, “The production glorifies the cultural richness and heritage of our country. Audiences will get to see and learn a lot about India through the dance presentation, which celebrates unity in diversity.”

Besides dance, the production will also incorporate elements of theatre to make the narrative more gripping. “We will showcase events of historical importance, so some events from the lives of Shivaji and Mahatma Gandhi will be performed. Scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharatha will also be incorporated,” explains Dr Shantaram.

The duo has been planning for the production for a long time. The idea surfaced from a casual meeting between Supriya and Dr Shantaram, who realised their mutual interest in projecting the country with pride through dance and theatre. Most of the dancers are from both their dance schools: Shivpriya School of Dance and Music and Nithya Narthana Priya School of Bharatnatyam. The Odissi, Mohiniattam, Yakshagana and Kathakali artistes have been invited from other schools.

“We divided the choreography between each other to make the process smooth and quick. Both of us have made several attempts to maintain the nativity and authenticity of the respective dance style. We have been working on this since January,” he says, adding that he will also be performing the Shiv Tandava and several other folk dances.

Their biggest challenge was getting together all the artistes. “We had to look for tailors to stitch the costumes exclusively for the production. But no matter the difficulty, we cherish every moment of working towards this production,” Dr Shantaram adds.

The event will be held on April 26, 6 pm at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Malleswaram.