Classical Dance
MANIPURI AND KUCHIPUDI

Sanjib Bhattacharya – Manipuri Dance
Bharati Avireddy – Kuchipüudi Dance

Sanjib Bhattacharya, recipient of President’s Awards from A.P.J Abdul Kalam in 2006 and Pratibha Patil in 2011 is an accomplished Manipuri Dance Exponent, Guru and well-known Choreographer. He received his training under the tutelage of Guru Bipin Singh, Padmashri Darshana Jhaveri, Kalavati Devi, Manjushree Chaki Sircar and Mamata Shankar. He is an established performer in India and abroad. He is not only performing solo, but also with eminent Gurus like Padmavibhushan Sonal Mansingh, Padmashri Darshana Jhaveri, Padmashri Ranjana Gauhar Pratibha Prahlad, Vaijayanti Kashi and others. He runs several dance academies and schools where he conducts Lecture Demonstrations and workshops regularly in Manipuri dance.

Manipuri is one of the most beautiful dance styles of India. Nurtured in the mountainous region of the northeast, it takes its name from the name of the area, Manipur, which is now a state. Manipur literally means a jewel of a land, and the state is set like a gem in the verdant hills. The legend goes that the gods drained a lake in the beautiful countryside in order to find a place to dance. No wonder then, that dance is an inherent part of the rituals of daily life, such as weddings and homage to ancestors.

Bharathi Avireddy is a professional solo dancer and teacher in Indian classical dance styles Bharatha Natyam and Kuchipudi. Born in a musicians’ family, Bharati carved her own niche by forging ahead in the field classical dances, apart from dabbling in her family’s chosen path. She started learning Bharatha Natyam at the age of 9 from her first Guru Mrs. Uma Sampath. Her present Guru is Mrs. A. Rama Krishna in Visakhapatnam. Bharathi moved to Germany in 1994 and her thrist to classical dance encouraged her to perform and to give dance classes. She started Indische Tanzakademie in 1997 in Wiesbaden and is now teaching in Frankfurt and Rome. She believes in “Art is Divine and Divinity is love.” Anything done needs to be done with a loving heart. This makes her also to excel in the form of Folk and Fusion dances.

Kuchipudi developed in what is now known as the state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India. It derives its name from the village Kuchelapuram, where it was nurtured by great scholars and artists who built up the repertoire and refined the dance technique. The technique of Kuchipudi makes use of fast rhythmic footwork and sculpturesque body movements. Stylized mime, using hand gestures and subtle facial expression, is combined with more realistic acting, occasionally including dialogues spoken by the dancers. In this blend of performance techniques, Kuchipudi is unique among the Indian classical dance styles.

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