TORONTO: As the New year 2021 brought with it new restrictions as well as lockdowns in various parts of the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the artistic directors of Panwar Music and Dance Productions, Hemant and Vaishali Panwar had the inspiration to renew joy and beauty in the lives of homebound world audiences, through a Festival of Dance – NRITYA UTSAV.
This artistic endeavour held on the 20th and 21st of February was to celebrate “Basant Panchmi”, the Hindu festival which marks the advent of spring or “Basant” and honours the Goddess Saraswati who is considered to be the mother of all arts.
This online program united several artists in a collaborative mosaic of professional performances by classical dancers from the USA, India and Canada, each of whom presented dance pieces around the theme of Basant.
Nritya Utsav highlighted three aspects of the arts – the creative process, the final performance and an educational component that helped spectators to delve deeper into the entire journey of each dancer as well as learn about that form of classical dance.
Some performers shared their artistic inspirations, while others danced on their home stages, taking the time to also teach a few of their dance steps. This two-day festival not only promoted solidarity within the international artistic community but through a beautiful bouquet of their dance creations offered beauty and hope, to a global audience confined to their homes.
The initiative won the hearts of many through the comments of joy which people could share with others during the livestream.
Hemant and Vaishali Panwar, a dynamic Kathak duo couple, gave more than one brilliant performance weaving together the grace of their hand gestures, the intricacy of their footwork and their own unique musical and poetic compositions.
Sunaina Rao from USA showed the various plays in nature that Spring can bring through the graceful movements of the dancing birds as well as the joy that the season evokes. The performance of Dheerendra Tiwari from India displayed the technical finesse and rigour of Kathak through the very precise spins and skillful footwork which are some key features of Kathak.
Odissi dancer, Enakshi Sinha eloquently showed how the various movements of the torso and feet contribute to the grace and control that her classical form is known for.
The beauty of the Mohiniattam dress and the traditions that surround this art were displayed and explained so well by the classical dancer Mala Pisharody in her creative home studio space.
The attributes of the serene Goddess of the arts, Devi Saraswati were brought to the online stage through the dance demonstration and performance by Jaya Srivastava in the style of Bharata Natya.
Basu Sinam & Monika Sinam, a Manipuri dance couple from India displayed the colourful and traditionally elaborate costumes as they shared their performance relating to the season of Basant through the Divine play. Nritya Utsav can still be watched at www.facebook.com/panwarmusicanddance/