Short Productions
Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva)
The triad of deities Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu, the Preserver and Shiva, the Destroyer, is referred to as The Trinity in Indian Mythology. These characteristics are ever pervading in humans as well. Is there a creator, preserver and destroyer amongst us? The production explores this question.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Indian classical dance borrows its material from Indian mythology. Most dancers present stories from mythology. We decided to take this a step further and connect mythological characters and stories with stories of people we see in our day to day life. The production attempts to bridge mythology and life as we see it today. In the process we explore three social issues that affect the world today – loss of green cover, water scarcity and waste management.
DURATION: 30 min
Abhijnana (The Recognition)
King Dushyanta is on a hunting expedition when he meets Shakuntala and falls in love with her. He gifts her his royal ring. Cursed by a sage that her love will be forgotten, Shakuntala has only one way of getting back her true love – the ring!
ABOUT THE PLAY AND THE PLAYWRIGHT
The production is based on the Indian Shakespeare “Poet Kalidasa’s” best known work ‘Abhijnana Shakuntalam’. We present this story as a short dance theatre production. Kalidasa’s works consist of famous plays, epics written in the form of poetry, and minor poems. Kālidāsa wrote in Classical Sanskrit and is widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language of India. His works form an essential part of Classical literature and Sanskrit theatre in India.
DURATION: 30 min
Avabodha (The Awakening)
Srinivasa Nayaka is a rich merchant for whom money alone matters. An incident with an old man leads to a life changing experience.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Can one incident change life completely? This production draws from one incident in the life of Saint Purandaradasa who was known as one of the founding fathers of Indian Classical Music. The incident marks the start of his journey as a composer and saint.
DURATION: 30 min
Gananayakam (Lord Ganesha)
“Gananayakam” is a thematic solo Bharatanatyam presentation that explores the different forms of Lord Ganesha. The presentation uses the compositions of Sant Dnyaneshwar, Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar, Tulasivanam, and Thiru Oothukkaadu Venkatasubbaiyar in Marathi, Telugu, and Sanskrit
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Ganesha, the Elephant God, is a popular Hindu deity worldwide. Known as the remover of obstacles and the lord of beginnings, there are various forms of Ganesha worshipped all over India. Each form of Ganesha has a mythological story behind it. This production explores a few such stories. The music for this production borrows from the compositions of leading composer poets in different languages.
DURATION: 30 min
Navonmesha (Exploring New Stories)
Navonmesha explores some unusual and not so well known stories from the Ramayana through the compositions of the two best known composers of Carnatic music – Saint Thyagaraja and Purandaradasa.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
The Ramayana is one of the most celebrated Indian epics. Various authors and poets have authored various retellings of the story. There are various folk versions of the Ramayana too. This production looks at lesser known tiny stories from the Ramayana. These tiny stories appear in the compositions of Carnatic music composers.
DURATION: 30 min
Exploring the Gita
We present India’s best known philosophical text through compositions of famous Carnatic composers. We cover the 700 verses through three classical music compositions.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
The Bhagavad Gita dates back to the 2nd century BC. The Gita appears as a part of the Mahabharata (India’s second best known epic after the Ramayana) and took place on a battlefield. Consisting of 700 verses, the Gita has had multiple classical and modern commentaries on it. The text has also been explored through various dimensions over time – philosophical, managerial, devotional, etc. The production presents a summary of the text through three classical music compositions.
DURATION: 30 min
Nayika (The Heroine)
Four ladies in love, four different stories! Based on the different types of Nayikas (heroines) mentioned in the Natyashastra, here comes our next presentation, with an explanation in German and English.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Indian classical dance is based on the Natyashastra. The Natyashastra, known as the bible of Indian classical dance and theatre, deals with nuances of theatre and dance. It mentions eight types of heroines (nayikas) and heroes (nayakas) and their trials and tribulations in love. The compositions to which these stories are performed present specific situations in love and are extremely poetic in nature – a Nayika decked up and waiting for her lover to arrive, the lover who has cheated on his nayika, the nayika speaking about the other woman in the life of her nayaka, etc.
DURATION: 30 min
The Story Of The Ramayana
We present India’s best known epic- the Ramayana in a shorter format while keeping intact its essence and message. We take our viewer through the story using five compositions from Classical music.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
The Ramayana is India’s most well-known story. It has various retellings by Indian authors, movie and television versions, stage versions, and dance versions. The dance versions are performed to this day in countries like Thailand and Bali. In this production, we attempt to present the story in a shorter format.
DURATION: 30 min
Bards, Ballads & Beauty
Traditional Indian compositions are known for philosophy & mythology. However, they also explored beauty – beauty of the deity. The poet-composers used rich language & different styles of poetry to express this aspect. Let’s explore stories of beauty from the traditional compositions through dance.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
The production takes five different compositions and looks at the type of poetry, the choice of ragas and why these ragas were chosen by the composers, the concept of beauty in them, and the stories they tell.
DURATION: 30 min
Invocation
Invocation is a short presentation that looks at compositions from the Indian classical dance realm. Why are specific deities invoked in these compositions, and what are the stories behind them?
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
“Invocation” draws its stories from the Linga Purana, Devi Mahatmyam, and folklore. On the music front the production has a mix of Carnatic and Hindustani ragas.
DURATION: 30 min
The Maharaja's Poetry
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Maharaja Swati Tirunal Rama Varma is credited with 400 plus compositions spanning Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Sanskrit and Telugu in both the Indian classical music styles. The compositions include Dhrupads, Khyals, Bhajans, Prabandhams, Upakhyanams, Varnams, Padams, Thillanas and Krithis. This production attempts to present a small variety from this ocean.
DURATION: 45 min
To know more about any of these productions or to book these productions, please get in touch with us.
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