Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Vikas Yendluri - "Didi"




It is always refreshing to come across young talent in the field of Indian Classical music and dance. Today we feature Shri Vikas Yendluri, a young and upcoming artist from Northern California. Vikas has been a disciple of renowned tabla master, Ustad Arshad Syed for the last fourteen years. Vikas is currently a sophomore at Stanford. I had an opportunity to see him play live and was astonished at his riyaz and tayari. Definitely an artist to watch out in the future. Its the young generation like Vikas that carry, on their capable shoulders this long and ancient tradition, giving it a modern perspective and global appeal. Do you know any such young talents let us know and we will feature them on Kathakars.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Kathak and Flamenco- fusion


I came across this video on YouTube and had to share it with my readers. What is Unique about this video is that both the dancers have maintained the authenticity of their respective dance styles. They have managed to beautifully bring this both distinct styles of dancing together. The julgalbandhi piece in the end is amazing.The styles compliment each other well. Love to see more of such work.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Monday, May 2, 2011

Mahesh Kale - Deva Gharache - Natyageet



Shri Mahesh Kale is a young and very talented Hindustani Classical Singer. I personally had the fortune of hearing him sing live. He introduced me to the wonderful world of Marathi Natyasangeet. He i currently based in Sunnyvale , Northen California. For more information on this artist you visit his website www.maheshkale.com

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

kathak


The style of dance performed in this Video is Kathak an Indian Classical Dance Style. The dance originated from Kathakars or Storytellers. This dance style has had along journey from temples of northern India to the Royal Courts to its present form. This dance form has evolved and reinvented itself with changing times. I like the use of formations in this choregraphed piece. Also the use of lighting which gives it a dramatic effect.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Bharat Ratna M.S. Subbulakshmi




The next artist featured in this series on women pioneers in the field of dance and music is late Smt M.S. Subbulakshmi. Born on 16th September 1916 M.S.Subbulakshmiji was a renowned Carnatic vocalist. She received training in carnatic music from great gurus like Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. She also went on to train in Hindustani music under Pt Narayanrao Vyas. She performed in different Indian languages like Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Sanskrit and Kannada. She was the first musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. She was also the first musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia's highest civilian award.