 Bala’s Bharata Nrithyam
 Bala Devi Chandrashekar, senior disciple of noted Bharata Nrithyam exponent, Dr Padma Subrahmanyam, director, Nrithyodaya, Chennai, gave a captivating Bharata Nrithyam recital for a major fundraising event of Nandalala Mission on December 18 to an elite audience.
The performance began with the song Bho Shambho! Bringing the concept of the absolute reality – Brahman. Brahman, conditioned by energy, is Isvara, who is the cause of the Universe made of five elements namely
earth,
water,
air, fire and
space. The item brought out the essence of the grace of the Lord, the devotee seeking His blessings to direct us to a teacher whose teaching will make us recognise that we are essentially non-different from Him. The dance highlighted aspects of nritta, abhinaya and karanas - as in dance sculptures. Bala Devi’s performance invoked the beauty of Bharata Nrithyam style in a scintillating manner. She danced it with great dedication and precision. Her use of the eyes was particularly noteworthy, set in a style of great classicism.
Bala Devi’s rendition of the Padam based on shringara rasa, with devotion to the Lord, was an interpretive dance of a lyrical passage set to music. The shringara Rasa depiction was realistic, branching off continuously into the portrayal of innumerable moods full of nuances. She represented the (nayika) in a state of separation and expectancy of union. The song provided valuable texture to the craft and sensitive abhinaya as they brought alive her manodharma Bala concluded the evening’s performance with a Padam on
Devi.
Her disciples also gave a noteworthy performance opening with Pushpanjali, Kauthvams, a Padam and concluded with a Thillana in Revathy
ragam.
Bala has performed in prestigious forums and select gatherings. Her style is marked by a combination of classicism and contemporary interpretation. She is a panel artiste with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and has served as panelist at several performing arts conferences at major universities.
Currently, she is involved with numerous collaborative dance projects.
Bala has a dance school in Princeton and imparts valuable training for motivated students and instructors of classical dance.
Sudha Krishnamoorthy
E-mail: chandrubala@yahoo.com
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