Review of Sacrifice: A Classical Indian Dance Ballet held on October 17th, 1998, in the Bay Area.
I have often heard people tell me that the most unique and original forms of Indian classical music and dance can only be found in India. All those people should have been at the Sacrifice Dance Ballet on October 17th at West Valley College Theater, Saratoga. If they had had a chance to see the originality, creativity and passion at work in the forms of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi that night, none of them would have ventured to make that argument about authenticity again. With that said, the dance ballet choreographed by Savitha Sastry, not only displayed the expressions and passion for dance, but also captured the audience's attention with some impressive lighting effects, colors and costumes. Above all, Sacrifice demonstrated the value of physical movement and flexibility to a human being, further emphasizing its efforts in raising funds for the Parkinson's Institute, which has strived for many years to find a cure for movement disorders.
Based on a concept of sacrifice being one of the
highest virtues of Indian culture, the dance began on a strong and impressive note with
the Invocation to Agni (God of Fire). The focus of the first of four acts was on
Sati who sacrifices her life by setting herself on fire, in protest of her father Daksha's
constant humiliation and disregard for her husband, Siva. With Telegu verses from
the Kumarasambhavam, this item had several highlights including some difficult footwork
delivered with ease by Kamala Deivam (Siva), Jyoti Lakkaraju (Daksha) and Savitha Sastry
(Sati). The eye-catching costume selection for Siva alongside the anxious climax
sequence where the flames rapidly and monsterously consume Sati were elements that surely
deserve mention. Krishna Subramaniam, Rekha Pai and Shalini Gupta provided the much
needed support with their precise and graceful movements and overall elegance. The
novel approach to performing the first act paved the way for the rest of the program that
night.
The second act was one that described the meeting between Kunti, mother of
the Pandavas, and her son, Karna, in efforts to dissuade Karna from fighting against the
Pandavas. In the midst of this act, Karna is surprised to learn that he is indeed
Kunti's son abandoned as a baby in fear of the shame he might bring upon her. In
conclusion, Karna promises Kunti that "in battle, he will kill or be killed by
Arjuna," regardless of Kunti's pleas to spare the Pandavas. One of the greatest
assets to a classical Indian dance program is indeed the ability to visually demonstrate
what can be easily written on paper or said in words. With brisk support from the
Sankrit verses in the Mahabharatha, Savitha Sastry's chereography enjoyed all the merits
of visual appeal that an audience could possibly ask for. From the scene where
Savitha (Karna) received Kamala's (Krishna) blessings while embarking on a journey to
fight the Pandavas to the sequence where Karna prayed to the Sun God, as Kunti (Jyoti)
entered to plead with him, both the facial expressions of each of the three dancers and
the mesmerizing visuals combined to be a powerful force in making this act a
success. The moment where Karna lay near Kunti's feet and grasped her hands in
surprise and anger was especially expressive and convincing. The aspect that should
not go without mention would be the blue lighting and the beautiful image of the sun
projected on the background screen. This particularly enhanced the stage and
emphasized the bright colors of the costumes that the dancers wore for the act.
Thinnappan's sacrifice to Lord Siva was the
central theme of the third act. His devotion to Siva is tested to an extent where he
gouges out his eyes to replace the bleeding eyes of Siva. The very beauty of this
particular act comes with the killing of the boar, played by Kamala Devam, (I am uncertain
if it was Ms. Devam who played the boar as the brochure displays. I remember seeing
another artist play the role in the act. I apologize for the uncertainty.)
Regardless of who played the boar, the dance sequence involving the killing of the boar by
the hunters, Jyoti and Savitha and the eventual lead-up to the Sivan temple was performed
remarkably well by the three dancers. Tamil verses by Sekkizhaar added to the
versatility and beauty of this story of pain and sacrifice. Savitha Sastry deserves
praise for her portrayal of Thinnappan and devotion to Lord Siva, despite the pain and
suffering.
There are indeed a small issue of concern. During one of the
narrations by Preetham Gopalaswamy on the upcoming act, there was a huge commotion
backstage, that almost immediately caught the attention of the audience. Bursts of
noise from the backstage should be avoided, as it not only distracts the audience but to a
certain extent, diminishes some respect for the organizers of the show. Indeed, this
particular issue should not be the measuring scale to judge the artists or the 
overall quality of the
performance. As seen in the final act, the dedication and passion of the dancers to
the concept of "Sacrifice" and to performing convincingly on stage was
tremendously apparent. The importance of solidarity and understanding across caste
and religious systems in India and among Indians was an apt concluding segment to a show
complete in its concept and execution. Hats off to all involved including Kamala
Devam, Archana Venkatesan, Shalini Gupta, Amrita Ragunathan, Jyoti Lakkaraju and Savitha
Sastry. An additional asset to this particular act was the Kannada verses written by
S.K.Harihareshwara from Stockton, California, who was fortunately present at the show, to
see his work being introduced to the public.
The backbone of every dance event is the music composition, vocal music artists and instrumentalists. Asha Ramesh (Music Composition), Meena Logam (Nattuvangam), Natarajan Srinivasan (Mridangam), Shanthi Narayanan (Violin) were most certainly the 'heart and soul' of this dance performance. Each of the artists played tirelessly on stage, giving their very best to maintaining the beat and the melody, which were the definite keys to the success of Sacrifice. Special recognition should also been given to Preetham Gopalaswamy (Narrator) and the Costume Managers: Shantha Sundar, Nirmala Gopalakrishnan, and Ratna Narasimhan. An important and well-deserved 'Hats Off' to all those in charge of lighting and sound. Their contribution had a major impact on the awesome quality of the Sacrifice Dance Show.
In conclusion, I am reminded of something that Katherine Kunhiraman, artistic director of Kalanjali Dances of India, had mentioned to me during the intermission. "These kind of shows should not just pack up with just one performance. They should be encouraged by various organizations to be performed repeatedly, especially since the program is so original and so well choreographed." She seemed to have taken the words right out of my mouth as well.
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