A performance is always a tightrope-walk for a dancer as all elements need to be perfectly aligned. Kuchipudi dancer Avijit Das faced a few challenges during his performance at The Music Academy when his vocalist suddenly developed throat issues — creating a void in the musical accompaniment. Yet, unfettered, the dancer continued.  

From the contemplative opening stance, Avijit’s stage persona came to the fore as he sailed through the composition ‘Shiva sthuti’ — a homage to the lord of dance. Choreographed by Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam, the leisurely pace of the dance made it an aesthetic delight. His nuanced portrayal explored the varied facets of Shiva.

An intrinsic part of a Kuchipudi presentation is the Tarangam, excerpted from ‘Krishna Leela Tarangini’, but in popular parlance it is viewed as the dance on a brass plate. Avijit chose to present a new Tarangam with different facets of Kuchipudi — Kalapam, Yakshagana and Vyastya Nrithyam — woven into it. ‘Kalaya yashode’ was a Ragamalika, Talamalika composition set to music by Rajkumar Bharathi. The narrative, conceptualised on the Kalapam concept of three characters, dealt with the story of a gopi confronting Yashoda about Krishna’s pranks, but sudden realisation of his stature dawns on her as she recalls the various leelas of Krishna and her anger dissipates. 

The story of Indra’s wrath on the people of Vrajbhoomi — bringing torrential downpour in the region as an act of retaliation and Krishna coming to their rescue lifting the Govardhana mountain as an umbrella — was depicted using Jathikettu — a distinct rendition of jathis and circular movement patterns. Despite the discrepancies in music, the ease with which the dancer moved from one character to another in his portrayal of birds, animals and people in distress was impressive.

Nest, the story of Chanura filled with dramatic moments unfolded turning the spotlight on the theatrical format of Kuchipudi. The confrontation between Krishna and Kaliya — a favoured episode in dance — was a beautiful sequence with a series of swara passages called Swara Kattu. Tuned in Vasantha raga, it was powerful depiction of the fight.

The Kshetrayya padam ‘Eduvanti vade varo’ in Kalyani raga, Tisra Triputa tala dealt with the emotions of a samanya nayika aspiring to be the love interest of Muvvagopala. The restraint in the portrayal enhanced the appeal, though a more depth could have amplified the emotional impact. A Hamsanandhi Tillana by Mudicondan Venkatarama Aiyar was the concluding piece.

The musical team featured D.V. Prasanna Kumar on the nattuvangam, D.S. Srivathsa on vocals, G.S. Nagaraj on the mridangam, Nivedhitha Arun on the veena and Raghu Simhan A.N. on the flute.