Ananda Shankar Jayant’s ode to Tagore Returns to Hyderabad

HYDERABAD:
Having received critical acclaim for dance choreography, and theatrical presentation, Ananda Shankar Jayant’s highly acclaimed dance theatre production – Kavyanjali – An Ode to Gurudev will be presented in Hyderabad.
The Department of Languages and Culture, Government of Telangana in collaboration with Shankarananda Kalakshetra, will be presenting Kavyanjali on Friday 26th August 2016 at 7pm, at Ravindra Bharati Hyderabad.
The Bengali and Telugu production featuring a stellar cast of 20 dancers, traces the extraordinary and far reaching impact of Rabindranath Tagore on Telugu writers, and their poetry.
Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer Ananda Shankar juxtaposes an anthology of Tagore’s poetry with a selection of similar, comparable Telugu poetry by Devullapalli Krishna Sastry, Rayaprolu Subba Rao and the poet duo of Balantrapu Venkata Rao and Oleti Parvateesam.
She aims to showcase a synergy of themes, thoughts and ideas in Telugu poetry of the early 20th century inspired by Tagore.
Structured in 4 sections – Nataraja, Prakruti, Maataram and Gitanjali: ‘Kaavyanjali – An Ode to Gurudev’, is an offering of poems, in Bengali and Telugu, music – Rabindra Sangeet and Carnatic music, classical dance and English narration; that spans the arc of Tagore’s poetry and their evident influence on Telugu poetry.
This production has been created in collaboration with distinguished Tagore scholar, Dr Partha Ghose and renowned Telugu scholar and writer, Prof. Mrunalini Chunduri, with music by Sathiraju Venumadhav, for the Telugu poetry, Mrs Dolan Banerjee for the Rabindra Sangeet.
Costume is by Ganesh Nallari and lights by Prakash Savio. The production is is Shankarananda Kalakshetra’s homage to Vishwakavi Rabindranath Tagore.
Kavyanjali returns to Hyderabad, with a stellar cast of 20 dancers, having received critical acclaim, for its dance choreography, and theatrical presentation.
Premiered in Hyderabad, during the 150th Anniversary celebrations of Tagore, the full production travelled to Kolkata and Shanti Niketan in 2013, while excerpts were performed across the world. Creating and choreographing since the age of 17 years, Ananda’s choreographies include solos, duets, ensemble works, full length productions, and dance theatre.
Her choreographies span the spectrum of both classical Indian dance – Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, and neo classical movement technique, creating the warp and weft of a rich and acclaimed repertoire.
Invitations for the event are available at Office of Director Culture, Ravindra Bharati.