Vizag's 18th Vysakhi Nrityotsav spotlights classical dance and young talent
The 18th Vysakhi Nrityotsav in Visakhapatnam featured classical and folk performances, awards for veteran and young dancers, and a Kuchipudi debut.
Visakhapatnam played host to the 18th edition of the Vysakhi Nrityotsav, an all-dance festival, over the weekend at the Kalabharathi auditorium. The event was led by its founder and festival director, B.R. Vikram Kumar.
Padma Shri awardee Darshana Jhaveri, a noted exponent of Manipuri dance, was presented with the Vysakhi Bharata Nritya Bhushan award. Vasundhara Doraswamy received the Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan Excellence award, while Pavitra Krishna Bhat and Afsaan Gujaravat were honoured with the Yuva Puraskar awards.
The festival opened on Saturday with performances by Ms. Jhaveri and her troupe in the Manipuri style, and by Hari Reddy and his troupe in Kathak. An animal-mask dance by an Odisha troupe led by Dhanu Bisai, a form rarely staged in the city, was also part of the opening day.
The concluding day on Sunday featured Ms. Doraswamy and her troupe performing Bharatanatyam, alongside Mr. Gujaravat and his troupe presenting Rajasthani folk dance.
A day before the festival began, Shloka Pakala, a final-year B.Tech student at GITAM University, made her Kuchipudi Rangapravesham, or debut. The nattuvangam for her performance was provided by her teacher, K.V. Lakshmi of the Nataraj Music and Dance Academy.