The 11th edition of the Ananya Dance Festival, which was held from October 6-10 in Purana Qila, New Delhi, is an occasion dance lovers await with much hope and delight. It enlightens up the being and ushers in positive light in one’s mind and soul.

Following its tradition of 10 years, this year too Ananya brought traditional dance forms, like Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Mohiniyattam, on a single platter.
This year’s event — organised by the department of art, culture, languages of the government of Delhi and Seher in association with Archaeological Survey of India and Doordarshan, is the first time that Ananya has opened its floors to school students. Moving away from the familiar format of performances or lecture demonstrations, about 100 schoolchildren interacted with artistes from the Ananya Dance Festival at Purana Qila on the first day and learnt about the creative process, getting a backstage tour of the festival venue and trying out a few dance moves of their own.
According to Sanjeev Bhargava, creative director, Ananya, the initiative is aimed at taking Indian culture to the students. “This time we had also introduced an outreach programme whose objective was twofold. First to foster a vision of taking Indian culture to the students, second to present the creative industry — music, dance, theatre, art professionals — to be encouraged amongst the younger generation as viable alternative career options,” he said.
While one of the greatest achievements of the festival has been to discover budding artistes and establish their indisputable talent, it has also maintained high standards by featuring established seniors dancers and choreographers to perform at this annual dance fest.
On the first day Delhi-based Saroja Vaidyanathan’s troupe performed Bharatanatyam with a recital dedicated to Shiva Shakti which was based on Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati (Shakti). “I have been with Ananya since nine years and it has been a wonderful journey. This is one of the biggest dance festivals held in India and I would like to be with it for the rest of my life,” says Vaidyanathan.
While speaking about her eagerness to showcase Bharatnatyam as one of the most-acclaimed form of dance since decades and her fondness with dance festivals, Vaidyanathan says, “They are organisers and we are performers. Whatever the organisers say we have to do. This year Ananya head Sanjeev Bharghava asked me to open the show, so I did it. We are ‘kalakars’ and we will do whatever the organisers want.”
On the second day, Kolkata-based Kathak veteran Rani Karnaa’s troupe performed Piroye Moti, which was a collection of Rani Karnaa’s unique and rare solo compositions. The recital brought together the best of poetry, lyricism, music, philosophy, pure dance and abhinaya.

The performance started with Shiva Vandana where homage is offered to Shiva, who transcends the three gunas, whose damru gave rise to the primordial Naad, and whose tresses are the source of the Ganga. It was followed by Raas Sanyog Shringar, which depicts the wondrous nature and beauty of the eternal pair — Radha and Krishna.
On the third day, Mohiniyattam danseuse Vijayalakshmi performed Paryapti with her group. Vijayalakshmi’s choreographic work Paryapti is inspired by the regional ethos and the musical tradition of West Bengal. In this eclectic production, Mohiniyattam finds a perfect expression for its quintessential femininity in the celebration of Durga. Paryapti celebrates the inherent divinity in all forms of creation and at all levels of society by exploring the culture, evolvement and status of courtesans in India.
Speaking about the greatness of Ananya Dance Festival and the creative work of Bhargava that led to Ananya’s 10 years of successful journey, Vijayalakshmi says, “Ananya Dance Festival is spectacularly beautiful. Although this is not ‘the’ experience, it’s a great service in the world of entertainment, which is dominated by Bollywood and cricket. Bhargava has done it admirably well.”
Recently, inspired by the celebrated composition of Russian composer Tchaikovsky, Vijayalakshmi choreographed Swan Lake in the Mohiniyattam style. “It didn’t happened overnight. I like to push beyond limits. I came to the then USSR in 1987 and heard a lot about its music. I have been listening to the Western classical music and have incorporated it in many of the dance forms in India. I am in love with Western classical,” says Vijayalakshmi.
According to Vijayalakshmi, “Dance is a celebration. So one must enjoy it in whatever way possible.” While explaining her enthusiasm to explore different forms of dance and music, Vijayalakshmi says, “It’s always fun to explore the uncharted territory. It gives you ample opportunity to grow. For any artist it’s very important to understand the true meaning of tradition. Tradition helps us to grow from inside, which is most important for eternal growth. So I often mix up different forms of dance and try to come up with something new.”
Although Vijayalakshmi has no problem with the modern dance and Bollywood-style dancing, she asks young learners to grow themselves from inside, and not rely much on external means for dance and music. “The young enthusiastic dancers should have the urge to grow from inside and look inward. Bollywood is fine, but it is external. One has to learn the traditions and grow with it hand-in-hand.”
On day four, Rudrakshya Dance Company, the contemporary Odissi dance ensemble founded in 2000 by Guru Bichitrananda Swain, which has also performed in Europe and the US, dedicated their dance to the improvement of the Odissi dance style with special emphasis on developing new and innovative choreography. Rudrakshya seeks to preserve the integrity of the art form by building upon the foundation reconstructed and developed passionately by the forefather of Odissi.
We bid adieu to another year of this timeless dance fiesta hoping that in the coming years Ananya Dance Festival will be a much bigger, much larger and much talked-about dance festival in the world which showcases the enthusiastic India in a new and colourful way.