Bhopal, 20 February (HS): The 51st International Khajuraho Dance Festival will begin today in the divine aura of the thousand-year-old temples of UNESCO World Heritage Site Khajuraho. The festival will be inaugurated at 6:30 pm in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. On this occasion, Madhya Pradesh State Rupankar Kala Award decoration ceremony will also be organized. Dance performances in the festival will start from 6:30 pm every day.
This year many new dimensions and ancillary activities have been added to this international dance gathering organized by Ustad Alauddin Khan Music and Art Academy for the Madhya Pradesh Government, Culture Department, in collaboration with Archaeological Survey of India, MP Tourism and District Administration, in the temple courtyard between Kandariya Mahadev Temple and Devi Jagdamba Temple in Khajuraho till February 26. In particular, the longest classical dance marathon (relay) presentation is being done with all major Indian classical dances such as Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi etc., which will be recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Chief Secretary of Culture and Tourism Department Shiv Shekhar Shukla said that during the 51st Khajuraho Dance Festival, there will be continuous dance performances for more than 24 hours in the longest classical dance marathon (relay) presentation. Its choreography/composition is being done by Kathak dancer and film actress Prachi Shah, Mumbai and music direction/composition is being done by Kaushik Basu, Mumbai.
Chhatarpur Collector Parth Jaiswal said that famous artists from different places of the country and state will present classical dances in the Khajuraho Dance Festival. An attempt has been made to do as much innovation as possible in this. In which Bal Nritya Mahotsav competition will be organized. Along with this, local artists will also be given a proper platform. He has appealed to everyone to participate in the program.
A new ancillary activity ‘Pranaam’ has been added this year in the 51st Khajuraho Dance Festival. Under this activity, there will be events expressing the life and artistic contribution of renowned dancer and Padma Vibhushan Dr. Padma Subramaniam, which will also include exhibition, lecture and dialogue cum performance focused on the life and artistic contribution of Dr. Padma Subramaniam. Dr. Jayashree Rajagopalan, Anuradha Vikrant, Mahati Kannan, Arvind Kumaraswamy, Piyal Bhattacharya, Dr. Rajshree Vasudevan, Arjun Bhardwaj and Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi will come for the lecture and dialogue. Apart from this, the art journey of Dr. Padma Subramaniam will be shown in the exhibition, which will include photos of her performances, books, dance costumes designed by her and the awards she received.
Since the beginning, renowned artists of the dance world have performed in Khajuraho Dance Festival. Continuing this tradition this year too, Padma award and Sangeet Natak Academy award winning dance artists have been invited. These names include famous Kuchipudi dancer Padma Bhushan Vidushi Radhakriraja Reddy, Manipuri dance artist Padma Shri Darshana Jhaveri, Chhau dance artist Padma Shri Shashadhar Acharya, Odissi dance artist Pravat Kumar Swain, Mohiniyattam dance artist Padma Shri Vidushi Bharti Shivaji, Kathak dance artist Padma Shri Vidushi Shobhana Narayan, Satriya dance artist Padma Shri Guru Jatin Goswami.
The SNA awardees include Mohiniyattam dance artist Pallavi Krishnan, Bharatnatyam dance artist Dr. Sandhya Purecha, Kuchipudi dance artist Deepika Reddy, Kathakali dance artist Sadanam K. Harikumar, Kathak dance artist Aditi Mangaldas, Manipuri dance artist Guru Kalavati Devi Krimbavathi Devi. There will also be a solo dance performance by film actress and famous Bharatnatyam dancer Meenakshi Sheshadri.
Hindusthan Samachar
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