Nandkishore Cultural Society in association with Akhil Bharatiya Shastriya Nritya Parishad celebrated International Dance Day, a day defined by UNESCO for the global celebration of dance to encourage participation and education in dance through events and festivals held all over the world. Senior Kathak exponent and Guru Dr. Pt. Nandkishore Kapote has been celebrating this event every year by inviting performers of Indian classical dance styles to perform on one stage. This year Classical dance Gurus along with their students and other performing artists of Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Kuchipudi and Mohiniattam classical dance style totaled 80 performers.
They graced the stage at Nandkishore Auditorium in Nigdi making it the largest and grandest classical dance show till date.
The repertoire of the performers celebrated the theme of this year ‘Spirituality in Dance’ by including dances based on spiritual compositions. Dr. Pt. Nandkishore Kapote performed a beautiful ‘abhinaya’ using a series of pure hast-mudras from the ancient dance treatises.
His performance was on “Thumak Chalat Ram Chandra’, a devotional bhajan that honours Lord Shri Ram’s childhood. The audience was spell bound with the performance. The repertoire of other performing artists included other spiritual themes such as a Stuti-Vandana to Lord Ganesha in the Bharatnatyam style, a Kathak presentation on Bhakt Prahlad- a devotee of Hari, Glory of Lord Shiva, a ‘Stuti’ glorifying the Goddess etc. which were all praised by the audience.
Other performers in Kathak style included Vaishali Palsule, Vidula Harip, Shilpa Bhome, Bhavna Gaud, Snehal Soman, Milind Kumar Gharde, Milind Ranpise, Prachi Pachghare, Padmini Sonwane, Sumedha Gadekar etc. performers in the Bharatnatyam style included Senior performer Geeta Sharma, Sayli Kachrekar, Vasanti Nikam and in the Odissi, Kuchipudi and Mohiniattam styles included Varda Vashanpayan, Chippi Padamkumar respectively. Master of ceremonies was Shobha Pawar. This annual event is truly a memorable one to understand the true value and importance of the Indian classical dance art form and at the same time it adds to the richness of cultural tradition of Nigdi and surrounding areas.
