Purvadhanashree performing Vilasini Natyam (all images) Devadasis has been a long debated issue- as a temple ritual as well as a dance form, although it has been into existence for centuries and perhaps older than many other classical dance forms. As a social ritual it was discredited a long ago and even many laws were brought to abolish the system. Even the dance form went into oblivion, until it was researched and revived in last few decades. Vilasini Natyam is said to be the dance of Telugu Devadasis. It was traditionally performed in temples as a ritual, in courts for the royalties and in the chambers for intellectuals for their aesthetic experience. It was also performed for the general public at dance theatres for their infotainment, to educate them, to ent...
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Well, just after the Summer solstice when on World Music Day, everybody was listening to the music of Yoga, we had chance to witness an excellent Bharatnatyam performance by Purva Dhanashree. Purva is known along with her accomplishments in Bharatnatyam, also for carrying forward the tradition of lesser known Vilasini Natyam from none other than the legendary Swapnasundari. Any dance has to do lot with the facial expressions. Along with body movement, its by there expressions that a dancer creates a perfect emotional contact with the viewers and takes them to a different world. Well, so here I have tried to capture some of the facial expressions from Purva Dhanashree during her performance last night (click the photos to see them in enlarged form and enjoy the real beauty of the exp...
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