Sudha Chandran at Urja dance show

Sudha Chandran and other dancers performed classical dance at Urja dance show in Nehru Centre on April 26th 2008. In a bid to revive the golden glory of the classical dance forms, Sudha Chandran, Rajeshwari Sachdev and others performed a dance ballet at the Nehru Centre. The dance ballet, ‘Urja’, meaning energy reflecting the sheer ecstasy of the aesthetics of the human body rythms, was performed on Saturday by seven classical dancers also marking World Dance Day observed on April 28.

“The dance ballet, a fusion is an attempt to arrest the death of an art,” noted danseuse Sudha Chandran told PTI. Choreographer and concept visualiser of Urja, Kishu Pal, a trained Bharat Natyam dancer and social activist said they are not against modern dances but feel it is time to revive the pure art. “The 2000 year old rarefied art that summarizes the sublime link between the human body and energy is fast fading from the Indian social canvas,” Kishu Pal said.

The enitre dance sequence was narrated by noted actor Raza Murad. He introduced and interspersed each and every dance with the historical and philosophical background of the form and genre, which were primarily Kathak and Bharat Natyam. “Since today’s youth are in a state of limbo, the paradigm shift is possible,” the danseuse said. Chandran said, the joyous energy emanating from classical dance forms is certainly worth more than the pop dance having minimal shelf-life.

Noted actress, compere and dancer Rajeshwari Sachdev agreeing with Chandran said “pop dances are fast foods and if it is pop then it is bound to be popular. But then classical dance is an arduous journey.” Sachdev added that classical dance requires fire in the belly and it is not possible for everybody to walk on this path. The dancers feel that if their performance ignites interest in a small child then they would have managed to contribute to this art form.

Sachdev however disagreed with the presupposition that classical dance is dying. “It is a cycle and maybe classical dancers are right now feeling like what hockey players and other sportsmen feel when they see cricketers basking in the glory,” she added.