Here is an article which appeared in Deccan Chronicle, Chennai edition on the 20th July'09 which speaks very high of this dancer from USA. I attended this performance and we were so happy to have made it for that performance. For more details you can contact her father on email mmani at yahoo.com
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VINIDHRA COMES FROM THE USA AND HAS LEARNT DANCE THERE.
The art form of he art form of Bharatnatyam is such that unless there is precision combined with grace, one is likely to be bored while watching the same. Which is why one was pleasantly surprised to see the performance of Vinidhra Mani at the Narada Gana Sabha Mini Hall on July 18. It not just brought out the beautiful geometrical precision of Bharatnatyam, but was also laced with so much grace that all the angularities came across as aesthetic.
This comes with sound training and dedication. Vinidhra comes from the USA and has been learning dance there. She had her arengetram and has been placed in the `Top Five' at the First Cleveland Aradhana Dance competition in April 2007.Now into her second year of undergrad at UC Berkeley, California, the artiste gave an account of herself and the margam she chose to display. Beginning with the Mallari -- one of the most traditional pieces in the Bharatnatyam repertoire, the Gambheera Nattai piece was a prelude to a recital that was filled with some very memorable moments. The stances, the positioning of the hands, the manner of being firmly in control over the nritta, and the easy mobility of expressions that came in smooth transitions -- all of these and more were evident in all the pieces chosen.
The Sadashivan Maindane in Hamsadhwani, a Maharajapuram Santhanam composition brought back nostalgic memories of this musical maestro and Vinidhra Mani gave this item a unique empathy while describing Shiva. The ode to Shiva continued into the Varnam, Konjum Salangai in Lathangi, a Madurai Muralidharan, composition, which had several beautiful jathi por tions with a wealth of devo tion attached to it. tion attached to it.
It was particularly in this that her stances bore the strength of training and practise, as she appeared light foot ed and yet firm when it came to footwork. In praise of Goddess Lakshmi, Ranjanimala in Ragamalika, was eloquently done also thanks to the sensitive vocal by Hariprasad. In fact the entire ecital felt uplifted also thanks to this element.
The Theruvil Vaaraano in Kamas, and the Thillana in Kadanakuthoohalam, concluded the recital that reiterated that for a good Bharatnatyam recital there needs to be more than just years and mere knowledge of the dance form. Guru Vidhya Subramanian must also be credited for this -and on the nattuvangam conducted the recital with quiet grace. Sigamani on the violin, Nellai D Kannan on the mridangam and Sashidharan on the flute provided good orchestral support despite the indifferent acoustics at the hall.
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