From ‘Ekadsha Rudram’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
‘Ekadsha Rudram’, a drama drama detailing the 11 Rudras, the embodiment of Mahadeva, conceptualised, produced and directed by Poornima Gururaja was recently presented by dancers Gopika Varma and Leena Sreebadra.
The programme, featuring 60 dancers from five different dance schools, was packed with varied dance and music styles, LED visuals (Vinod Gowda) and vibrant colours.
The varied facets of Shiva and a few stories related to him were woven into the narrative, rendered by a sutradhar. The LED screen in the background, designed to flow with the ideas being expressed, sometimes interrupted the dancing. Especially impressive was the creation of a chariot’s image using the significant elements being ideated.
The chakkars of Kathak style were used with dramatic impact to show Shiva dancing with a life-sized puppet of Dakshayani. The multiple images of Shiva-Shakthi, the contemporary movement vocabulary for Kala Bhairavashtakam and the depiction of Bhadrakali were some sequences where the power of theatre was dominant.
The varied facets of Shiva were woven into the narrative
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The effort put in by the dancers was evident, but the continuous buzz of activity on stage was too much to take in. The costumes and their colour palette was an eclectic mix — what was needed was a cohesive aesthetic designed with care.
The dancers were drawn from Kalasindhu Academy (Bharatanatyam), Articulate Dance Studio (Kathak), Dasyam (Mohiniyattam), Shivapriya (Kuchipudi) and Samudra Natam (Contemporary style).
Ekadasha Rudra kritis of Shankaranarayana Iyer, combined with shlokas from the Rig Veda, made up the music. Besides this, Praveen D Rao had compiled individual music scores for each group.
Published – February 25, 2025 04:56 pm IST
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