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A b h i n a y a
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The
Devadasis of both Northern and Southern Andhra excelled in
the art of Abhinaya. This is an area of special focus in
Vilasini Natyam. The vast collection of Abhinaya items
learnt by Swapnasundari from various Devadasi artists finds
a major place in the repertoire of Vilasini Natyam. |
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A
select list of Items with Abhinaya elaboration
Padams
Javalis
Adhyatma Ramayana Keertanams
Annamacharya Keertanams
Amaru Satakam
Pushpa-Bana Vilasam
Sri Krishna Karnamritam |
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Exceptionally
gifted musician-dancer... Her tour-de-force
performance of rare Padams and Javalis of
Andhra Devadasis, indeed a mesmerising
experience...
Have no fear. Abhinaya will survive another
millennium.”
- India
Today
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 “Exemplary
for every mime artist anywhere in the world…
For us, she approaches someone like Marcel
Marceau!”
-
Het Vaderland, Holland
“Inspires a feeling of awesome reverence,
like a Supreme Priestess…”
- Teatteri, Finland
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“Detailed, reposeful and unrehearsed exposition of
Padams… Swapnasundari, whose passion and immense
talent for the art of expression is well-known, is
gifted with the ability to take her spectators to
great heights of aesthetic enjoyment. She improvises
freely on stage and takes her audiences on an
exciting journey of ideas and images. After a
period, during which classical dance had become
entrenched in pre-set, pretty packages, her
pronounced preference for Manodharma has brought a
breath of fresh air to the scene and ought to
inspire others…”
-The
Hindu, Delhi |
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“Abhinaya was so concentrated and the
audience so involved in the rendition that
this seemed the perfect example when art, by
its very quality, could rise to an exalted
level and raise the collective consciousness
of all participants to end on a note of
quietude, although the theme might not have
been outwardly devotional…”
- The Statesman, Delhi |
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“Swapnasundari can keep a hardcore dance aficionado
glued to the chair for hours even as her abhinaya
keeps the lay rasika riveted. An upturned nose, a
twitch of the eyebrows and a pout bring forth a
gamut of emotions with effortless ease. Abhinaya is
the mainstay of the devadasis' art. Swapnasundari
absorbed the nuances, the eyes alone reflecting a
myriad feelings. Dancers need to move out of the
routine to stand apart and look at the art.
Creativity combined with passion, dedication and
commitment are the necessary ingredients for a
dancer who sets out to make a mark in this
competitive field. And this about sums up
Swapnasundari's saga.”
-The Hindu, Chennai |
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“She has developed a deeply spiritualized
expression through which blossoms her grace
and sensuousness…”
-Der Bund, Switzerland
“Mesmerized us into a world of Gods… Left us
in a state of enchantment!”
- Westfalen Post, Germany |
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