Bharatanatyam Thyagaraja Ramayanam
Thyagaraja Ramayanam is an Ekaharya, or a solo ballet wherein the story of Sri Rama as visualized by Thyagaraja, is portrayed in two parts - from Rama's birth to Sita Kalyanam & from Bharata's search for Rama to the final coronation of Rama in Ayodhya. The Ekaharya is based on the book 'Thyagaraja Kriti Ramayanam'by Sri D Seshadri. Select Kritis of Thyagaraja are used to describe the story of Sri Rama, as well as depict Thyagaraja's reaction to the various episodes in Rama's life. Valmiki shlokas are used for continuity and have been set to music by
Smt. Subhashini Shankar.
Dancing with joy, Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant, one of the renowned dancers of the country; imbues technique and grammar with a sparkling quality, bristling with life. Hailed as an intelligent and thinking dancer with contemporary sensibility, Ananda, with her grace, vivacity and inner luminescence draws the viewer into the inner spaces that she paints, leaving the audience deeply touched.
'I dance in frenzied action seeking the stillness of the soul' - Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant

Bharatanatyam Ashtanayika - Swadheenapatika

This DVD regales you with a delectable fair of Nayikabhava with an exposition on Ashtanayikas- the heroines categorized by the natyashastras under 8 different heads according to their emotional status.
In an exhaustive and aesthetic manner it presents the mindset, moods, conflicts, cogitations, tempers and tantrums of Swadheenapatika, the heroine who defies all accepted norms and ventures out to meet her lover at a predetermined place.
The highlight of this product is a classroom session involving Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan, ('Maami' to her students), the greatest Abhinaya exponent of our times & Shobana Bhalchandra, her distinguished disciple.
'Smara Sundaranguni', a Dharmapuri Subbarayar composition forms the pivot of maami's engaging elucidation of Swadheenapatika. Then follows a sprightly demo of this javali by Shobana Bhalchandra.
In a long, no-holds-barred discussion, the attributes of each nayika are analyzed threadbare by the Guru who compares and contrasts Abhisarika with other nayikas to bring out the subtle differences between them.

The lively and informal student-teacher interaction is marked by enlightening digressions that cover different heroines, different contexts and a host of padams and javalis from the repertoire of well-known composers.

It brings into focus not only the intricacies of ayikabhava, but also the unique 

teaching methodology of Kalanidhi maami and the intensity of Guru-Sishya relationship which is the cornerstone of our culture.
Maami provides some practical tips for teachers and also students at different levels- beginners, those reasonably well-trained and foreign students who are not very familiar with our cultural milieu.
There is a wealth of information on how to approach the composition, understand its meaning and the mood it portrays before actually getting down to performance.

Bharatanatyam Ashtanayika - Proshitapatika

This DVD regales you with a delectable fair of Nayikabhava with an exposition on Ashtanayikas- the heroines categorized by the natyashastras under 8 different heads according to their emotional status.
In an exhaustive and aesthetic manner it presents the mindset, moods, conflicts, cogitations, tempers and tantrums of Proshitapatika, the heroine who defies all accepted norms and ventures out to meet her lover at a predetermined place.
The highlight of this product is a classroom session involving Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan, ('Maami' to her students), the greatest Abhinaya exponent of our times & Ramya Harishankar her distinguished disciple.
'Ninnu Jooda', a padam by Kshetrayya forms the pivot of maami's engaging elucidation of Proshitapatika. Then follows a sprightly demo of this padam by Ramya Harishankar.
In a long, no-holds-barred discussion, the attributes of each nayika are analyzed threadbare by the Guru who compares and contrasts Abhisarika with other nayikas to bring out the subtle differences between them.

The lively and informal student-teacher interaction is marked by enlightening digressions that cover different heroines, different contexts and a host of padams and javalis from the repertoire of well-known composers.

It brings into focus not only the intricacies of ayikabhava, but also the unique teaching methodology of Kalanidhi maami and the intensity of Guru-Sishya relationship which is the cornerstone of our culture.

Maami provides some practical tips for teachers and also students at different levels- beginners, those reasonably well-trained and foreign students who are not very familiar with our cultural milieu.
There is a wealth of information on how to approach the composition, understand its meaning and the mood it portrays before actually getting down to performance.