Rajahamsa was staged for Bharat Kalachar at Sri YGP Auditorium, T. Nagar in Chennai.
| Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B
Creativity and imagination led to the production of ‘Rajahamsa’, which is inspired by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece ‘Swan Lake’.
Ushanthini Sripathmanathan is the artistic director of the Melbourne-based Natyalaya, Melbourne. She is a performer, choreographer, teacher and arts/ cultural facilitator. The quality of dancing, colourful costumes and excellent music of ‘Rajahamsa’ aside, the show, staged at Bharat Kalachar, was an example of how stories can transcend countries and cultures.
‘Swan Lake’ is about a beautiful swan queen Odette, who turns into a white swan by day, by an evil sorcerer — only true love can break the spell of the curse. A prince in search of a bride falls in love with her after seeing her one night, when she is in human form. He is lovestruck, but unable to find her during the day. The spell is broken when they both die fighting the evil one, and are united.
This ballet has been performed by some of the most celebrated dancers across the world. The show featured Bharatanatyam, Kathak, a bit of garba and Kandyan (from Sri Lanka). Ushanthini’s show had the audience glued to their seats right till the end.
From Rajahamsa
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B
She had attempted something similar before in ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’. Rajkumar Bharathi, Ushanthini’s family friend, has composed the music and also wrote the lyrics for some parts of the ballet.
The music was recorded by Sai Shravanam at Resound India, and the musicians include G. Srikanth and Keerthana Vaidyanathan (vocal), Embar Kannan (violin), Guru Bharadwaaj (mridangam), and Vishnu Vijay (flute).
The performers danced with gusto. Usha played the role of the White Swan and her agility was commendable.
The choreography of various styles of dance included in the ballet were by artistes based in Melbourne – Kathak by Mohini Bordawekar, Kuchipudi by Shyama Sasidharan, Kandyan by Rangana and Udumbara Dance Troupe and Garba by Karishma Mallawarachchy.
