Colors galore mark Kruti Dance Academy’s Navrang recital
(Photos: Gregory Job)
An exuberant and colorful extravaganza, the 18th annual dance concert of Kruti Dance Academy (KDA) was held at the Cobb Energy and Performing Arts Center on Sunday, May 26th, 2013. This year’s concert was based on the theme Navrang, or in English—colorful! Colorful it was, in celebration of the academy’s artistic and culturally-infused journey through music and dance.
The show was split into nine segments, highlighting nine colors (White, Purple, Red, Green, Pink, Yellow, Blue, Orange, and Black) with a kaleidoscope of 38 breathtaking dances, ranging from traditional Bharata Natyam and folk pieces to Bollywood and fusion items. Kruti Dance Academy’s students and alumni, of diverse nationalities and age groups, performed innovative and creative choreography in their shimmering costumes to an extraordinary depth and range of wellchosen music.
Each color depicted characteristics and personalities of the students and talented instructors of the academy, not to forget artistic director Shemoni Parekh and guru Dina Sheth. The show commenced with the color White, a color symbolizing virtue, purity of mind, and simplicity. Kruti’s youngest performed traditional invocatory dances to pay their respects to Lord Krishna, Lord Shiva, and Lord Ganesh. Next followed the color Purple, representing majesty and grace. Kruti students showcased their incredible strength and skill in an effortless manner as they portrayed Bharata Natyam at its finest in items like “Tillana” and “Krishna Shabdam.”
The Red segment, symbolic of passion, excitement, and energy, paralleled Kruti’s consistent drive to pursue perfection and excellence. Energetic dances, such as “Boom Boom” (Ajab Gazabb Love) set the stage on fire as Kruti students utilized their artistic aggression and dynamic power to create a vivid visual representation.
The next color, Green, focused on a healthy and positive lifestyle. Items like “Guru Charanam” and “Gayatri Mantra” reminded the audience of the need for a balanced routine to ensure physical, emotional, and spiritual health—aspects of life that Kruti students have been taught to continuously strive for.
The items in the Pink segment ranged from “Tava Rasa” (Jayadev’s Geet Govind), performed by the most advanced Bharata Natyam students of the academy, to one of the most popular songs of the year, “Radha” (Student of the Year). These dances all portrayed the unconditional love and romance embodied by the color pink.
The Yellow segment, representative of enthusiasm and joy, was filled with items like “Jiya Re” (Jab Tak Hai Jaan) that contagiously kept the audience smiling. Kruti munchkins enthralled the audience with their heartwarming dances in the Orange segment, symbolic of humor and mischief. The playful choreography and fun-loving nature of the young students was most definitely able to bring out the inner child of the audience!
Blue, the color of the sky and the sea, was given a whole new meaning as Kruti students portrayed true tranquility and fluidity in this segment through dances like “Pani Da Rang” (Vicky Donor). The show came to a close with the mystery, intrigue, and elegance of the color Black. The most advanced students of the academy showcased their skills to give the journey the rightful end it deserved in items like “Rasiya” (Kurbaan) and “Hurricane.”
The finale was the creative and rich Bharata Natyam choreography performed to “Can’t Hold Us” (Macklemore and Ryan Lewis) by the academy’s most experienced arangetram students. It was beautifully choreographed to display the nine colors mixing elegantly as they should! Following the finale, respected guru Dina Sheth announced proudly that due to the dynamo efforts of her daughter and artistic director of Kruti, Shemoni Parekh, KDA would be moving to a brand new custom-designed dance studio in June, a facility that is approximately 3 times the size of the current studio and features state of the art dance flooring, lighting, and audio capabilities.
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