Let the Dance Flow On...

...was the title of our Sutra recital this past weekend. Since we're not going to be having Navarathri this year (Ramli & troupe will be touring Europe & US at that time), this performance was sorta a replacement for Navarathri, and also our only performance for the year.

The first day of the show started out on a bad note coz it was raining the entire evening. (I wasn't dancing on the 1st day but was there to help out) We waited an hour, praying for the rain to stop so the dancers could perform on the outdoor Sutra stage but the rain wouldn't let up :o( So the first half of the program, the Bharatanatyam items, were performed in the studio. I guess the kids were a bit kelam kabut coz of the smaller space and closer audience but at least they still managed to put on the show.

Thank gawd by the time the Odissi items were scheduled to go on, the rain had stopped so the rest of the program was done outside, on the stage. The rest of the event went on quite smoothly, except that (1) the music stopped suddenly during Mangalacharan, and (2) the stage was rather wet from the rain dripping off the leaves of the trees. But our dancers managed to hold their own and despite the slippery stage, no mishap occured :o)

After the first nite, I think we were all praying really hard that it wouldn't rain, so we were really really lucky on the 2nd day that it rained both BEFORE and AFTER the show, and not during the show. Phew!

I did Kalyani Pallavi, Lalitha Lavanga, and the long Moksha on the 2nd nite. Parents, CL, Merv & Rudy came to watch. Didn't make any noticeable mistakes, hehe... I think it went quite well :o) But when I was on the way home, the sky burst and the rain poured like there was no tomorrow! And I was just thanking my lucky stars that it held up till after the show. No pics from the 2nd day.

The 3rd nite, I did Mohane Deli Chahi, Kolabati Pallavi, and again, the long Moksha. There was a bit more pressure to perform on this nite coz so many ppl I know were there to watch : CL, CL's parents, sis + hubby, Sam + Aisha, James, Shasha, Hazel, and Marion. Man!!! Soooo many ppl!!! And Rachel (my ex-boss from VS) was there too!!! Not to watch me intentionally but she happened to know Michelle (my classmate) or something like that. And after the show, I bumped into another one of my salsa classmates. Such a small small world!

Towards the end of the Bharatanatyam program, it started to drizzle. We were all going "Pls dun rain, pls dun rain, pls dun rain" but the raindrops seem like they were getting fatter and bigger. Thank gawd it didn't pour and the audience was kind enuf to sit out the heavier-than-normal drizzle to see the end of the show.

Made tons of mistakes during the Kolabati, right from the very start! I was laughing to myself on stage when we were supposed to do a turn but didn't and everyone started on the wrong note. Haha! I found it quite funny... hehe. After that, I was just basically winging it, coz I'm not that familiar with the dance yet, and couldn't remember the sequence 100%.

Anyway, James and my sis were busy snapping away throughout the show. James has already posted up the pics on his Kodak gallery. Anyone who's interested to view the pics, pls email me or drop me a comment to get an invite to the album.

Here's a preview, pics from James' album (thanks, James!) :o)

...from Mohane Deli Chahi (an abhinaya/expression piece abt a teenage Radha, who meets Krishna and is captivated by him)

"Oh, wat a pretty saree!"

Searching for Krishna...

"See, my friend, wat He's done to my heart..."

Receiving Krishna's kiss (I should be smiling more here and not look so grim)...

...from Kolabati Pallavi (a pure dance piece, no storyline, but with a short abhinaya verse on Krishna and the ghopis towards the end of the dance)

Hehe... if u look closely, u can see me smiling widely here coz I'm laughing to myself...

Am waiting for my sis' collection now. Hopefully, she won't take too long to post them up :o)