Samira Koser delights with her Kathak performance on the inaugural day of National Classical Dance Festival at Tagore Theatre

The Department of Cultural Affairs, Chandigarh Administration, in association with Tagore Theatre Society has oganised a three-day mega festival of classical dances of India, National Classical Dance Festival at Tagore Theatre, Sector 18, which began on November 11. Eminent artistes from all over India are participating in this event. On the inaugural day, Kathak exponent Samira Koser (Kathak solo), and Priyadarshini Ghosh and Mohana Iyer and troupe (Mohiniyattam) presented remarkable performances.

Samira opened the programme with a spiritual performance followed by traditional Kathak dance. Kaya Swaroopa was her next act, displaying her command over abhinaya aspect of Kathak. She captivated the audience with her inimitable style of presenting bhavas in nritya. Accomplished artistes Guru Brij Mohan Gangani on padant, Mehmood Khan on tabla and Ramesh Parihar on vocals embellished the performance.

Later, leading exponents of Mohiniyattam, Priyadarshini Ghosh and Mohana Iyer, took to the stage. Their troupe included eight members, including Priyadarshini Ghosh, Mohana Iyer, Sampurna Mukherjee, Srijani Ghosh, Sreeradha Ghosh, Saheli Sengupta, Sanjana Ghosh and Debanjali Bandyopadhyay.

On Day 2, while Ranjana Gauhar delighted with her Odissi dance, Sridhar Vasudevan mesmerised the audience with his Bharatnatyam performance. Ranjana presented the dance ballet Khud Main Kabir–Kabir Main Hu. The production was a fusion of poems and bhajans through dance.

Shridhar and his troupe presented Dashavidha Keshava, which was based on how Lord Krishna is worshipped in 10 forms through the captivating poetry of Kashi Jayadeva. They concluded with Mangalam, which was a group performance in the traditional Bharatnatyam style.

Today will be the concluding day of the festival and will feature Kolkata-based Ashim Bandhu and troupe performing Moonstruck (a Kathak-based dance ballet), followed by a dance sequence based on mythology by Delhi-based Sangeeta Sharma.