Panorama Dance Festival to be held on January 13 and 14
Panorama Dance Festival to be held on January 13 and 14
Celebrating the occasion of renowned Bharatnatyam dancer Guru Smita Mahajan’s 60th birthday
Pune, 10 January, 2024: The ‘Panorama Dance Festival’ is all set to take place on the weekend of 13th and 14th January to showcase Guru Smita Mahajan’s 30 years of dance career. A selected array of her dance drama productions will be presented on the occasion.
The festival will take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre on Ghole Road over the weekend between four sessions from 10 am to 1 pm and 5.30 pm to 8 pm on both days. Hosted by ‘Artitude’ this two-day dance fest is being organized to commemorate Guru Smita Mahajan’s 60th birthday. The festival is free and open to all on a first come first served basis.
Smita Mahajan is regarded as a trailblazer among the selected Marathi artists who have been working in the field of Bharatnatyam for more than three decades now. Disciple of Dr Sucheta Bhide-Chapekar, Guru Smita Mahajan is an accomplished dancer, choreographer, composer, musician, and teacher. More than fifty compositions, written and composed by Mahajan especially for Bharatnatyam performances have been published in ‘Unmesh Margam’ in a CD as well as book format. Many of her experiments and lectures are said to have taken place in and outside India.
The first day of the festival will commence with ‘Darasendare Purandaradasa’ – a session showcasing the life story of the noble saint-poet Purandaradasa through his various enriching compositions. Produced by Artitude Production and choreographed and conceptualized by Smita Mahajan. The second session will see ‘Swatantra Yodhini’ – a Margam unfolding the life sketches of women who contributed towards India’s freedom struggle. Produced by Srujan Nad Production along with Smita Mahajan’s lyrics and music.
The evening session will start at 5 pm with ‘Meghdoot’ – A captivating presentation based on the Marathi translation of the popular poem ‘Meghdoot’ written by poet Kalidasa. This presentation is produced by Artitude Production along with the concept, choreography and writing of Smita Mahajan. The first day will conclude with ‘Shakuntal’ – A Marathi Margam unfolding the story of Abhijnanshakuntalam. based on the famous play is written by Kalidasa. The last session is an Alka Lajmi Production along with music and choreography by Smita Mahajan.
The first presentation of the second day will witness ‘Margam Unmesh – a newly written and composed BharataNatyam Margam. It is written, conceptualized and choreographed by Smita Mahajan as a whole. ‘Margam Unmesh’ will be counted as special as its first performance will be showcased in the festival. It will be followed by the inauguration of the 3rd Part of the Book ‘Margam Unmesh’ along with the research work based on ‘Hasta Vinoyoga.’ The final session of the festival will begin with ‘Devi’ – A depiction of various aspects of womanhood through the story of Devi Parvati. Produced by Artitude Production, it is once again written, conceptualized and choreographed by Smita Mahajan. The concluding performance of the festival will be ‘Nrityageetai’ – a presentation depicting the magnitude of stability, courage, and inner inspiration based on illustrations from Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta. This rendition is produced by Kala Prangan Production along with its music given by Smita Mahajan.
More than 25 artists will perform all of the above renditions for their love of classical dance. 13 Students of Guru Smita Mahajan along with artists from Vashi, Thane, and Nashik will also be participating.
