Meenakshi Ganesan performs in India
by Heidi M. Pascual
Meenakshi Ganesan, founder and artistic director/teacher of the
Kalaanjali School of Dance is back from India and was happy to
share with our readers her successful trip, not only because she
was able to see her relatives once again, but also to perform with
local dancers her passion — Bharatanatyam. What was different
in this performance, however, was the fact that she explored the
idea of presenting a fairy tale using the medium.
“Last summer, one of the Kalaanjali parents suugested we
perform a ballet on the fairy tales,” Ganesan said. “I liked the idea
and when I was talking to my aunt (also my Guru) about
presenting Cinderella in Bharatanatyam, she suggested that I
premier it in India with a live orchestra for the Silver Jubilee
performance.”
Ganesan was gripped with excitement, but was also nervous at
the suggestion because she knew that critics would “rate” an
“experimental” ballet. But it didn’t stop Ganesan from pursuing it.
“I started out with the enthusiastic help from my friend Vanitha
Suresh,” she recalled. “Once I wrote the lyrics, Vanitha diligently
composed the music and melody. I then directed and
choreographed the ballet for my teacher’s senior performing
group in India.”
Ganesan observed that picking up the dance was very easy for
all the dancers, but what they enjoyed the most was the way the
ballet was coming around. “Every step of the way, when we
worked from introduction of the character of Cinderella to the
scene where the fairy Godmother appears to the romantic
ballroom dance by the Prince and Cinderella, it was a dream
coming to reality,” Ganesan said. “A lot of thinking went into
designing the costume that would show the beautiful Cinderella
and the other characters in an Indian way while tending to the
original script as much as possible.”
Apart from “Cinderella,” the Indian performance commenced
with 23 traditional dance pieces. Ganesan opened the show with
Natyavedam, depicting the birth of dance, then presented a solo
dance depicting the love between Mother Yashoda and the little
mischievous Lord Krishna. With the “senior” dancers, she then
presented the brisk Thillana dance. There were other dances
performed by little children of the school as young as 4 years old
to complex pieces by “older” students.
As soon as Ganesan arrived in Madison, she taught her
Kalaanjali students the new choreography on “Cinderella in
Bharatanatyam,” and prepared them for its premiere showing at
the Overture Center for the Arts on April 5. She wanted her
students to have the same “experience” she had when she first
performed it in India. Below are some of the photos taken at the
1 p.m. performance of Cinderella in Bharatanatyam, Overture
Center Rotunda on April 5: Cinderella (Renee Karr Johnson);
Prince (Meagan Dietrich), stepmother (Vishnuvarthini
Manoharan), stepsisters (Antara Sinha & Narisha Reddy); Fairy
Godmother (Lisa Thurrell); and charioteers (Ankita Jha & Lydia
Russell).
Meenakshi Ganesan, founder and artistic director/teacher of the
Kalaanjali School of Dance is back from India and was happy to
share with our readers her successful trip, not only because she
was able to see her relatives once again, but also to perform with
local dancers her passion — Bharatanatyam. What was different
in this performance, however, was the fact that she explored the
idea of presenting a fairy tale using the medium.
“Last summer, one of the Kalaanjali parents suugested we
perform a ballet on the fairy tales,” Ganesan said. “I liked the idea
and when I was talking to my aunt (also my Guru) about
presenting Cinderella in Bharatanatyam, she suggested that I
premier it in India with a live orchestra for the Silver Jubilee
performance.”
Ganesan was gripped with excitement, but was also nervous at
the suggestion because she knew that critics would “rate” an
“experimental” ballet. But it didn’t stop Ganesan from pursuing it.
“I started out with the enthusiastic help from my friend Vanitha
Suresh,” she recalled. “Once I wrote the lyrics, Vanitha diligently
composed the music and melody. I then directed and
choreographed the ballet for my teacher’s senior performing
group in India.”
Ganesan observed that picking up the dance was very easy for
all the dancers, but what they enjoyed the most was the way the
ballet was coming around. “Every step of the way, when we
worked from introduction of the character of Cinderella to the
scene where the fairy Godmother appears to the romantic
ballroom dance by the Prince and Cinderella, it was a dream
coming to reality,” Ganesan said. “A lot of thinking went into
designing the costume that would show the beautiful Cinderella
and the other characters in an Indian way while tending to the
original script as much as possible.”
Apart from “Cinderella,” the Indian performance commenced
with 23 traditional dance pieces. Ganesan opened the show with
Natyavedam, depicting the birth of dance, then presented a solo
dance depicting the love between Mother Yashoda and the little
mischievous Lord Krishna. With the “senior” dancers, she then
presented the brisk Thillana dance. There were other dances
performed by little children of the school as young as 4 years old
to complex pieces by “older” students.
As soon as Ganesan arrived in Madison, she taught her
Kalaanjali students the new choreography on “Cinderella in
Bharatanatyam,” and prepared them for its premiere showing at
the Overture Center for the Arts on April 5. She wanted her
students to have the same “experience” she had when she first
performed it in India. Below are some of the photos taken at the
1 p.m. performance of Cinderella in Bharatanatyam, Overture
Center Rotunda on April 5: Cinderella (Renee Karr Johnson);
Prince (Meagan Dietrich), stepmother (Vishnuvarthini
Manoharan), stepsisters (Antara Sinha & Narisha Reddy); Fairy
Godmother (Lisa Thurrell); and charioteers (Ankita Jha & Lydia
Russell).
(Counterclockwise fromtop left) Meenakshi Ganesan;
playing the part of Lord Rama in the ballet of
friendship between Lord Rama and Guhan; a pose
with Thillana dancers; with her aunt, Meenakshi’s
guru;
playing the part of Lord Rama in the ballet of
friendship between Lord Rama and Guhan; a pose
with Thillana dancers; with her aunt, Meenakshi’s
guru;