hari tum haro - a riveting dance

[smala]

A young ethereal dancer giving a performance of a lifetime. Every line of the song is portrayed vividly, with sheer fluid grace, soaked with bhakti.

The bhakti in the vocalist's rendition is exceptional too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBuAlsx8 ... grec_index

[madhan]

Is the costume a Mohiniattam costume?

[smala]

Is the costume a Mohiniattam costume?

I wondered about that too - it is white/off white with zari border and worn as in the style of Mohiniyattam - however the side top knot is missing so the face-hair do presentation is bharatanatyam.

[ksl]

ethereal dancer?
Shama Priya, I dont know what you find ethereal about this dancing!
a. Shes wearing a Mohiniattam costume because she probably wanted white for meera but couldnt get a bharatanatyam dress in white??
b. She starts out with a base flute for Krishna, she flutters her eyelashes in a Meera Bhajan with a sthayi bhava of gratitude
c. There is no aramandi, she stands like a stick and bends forward all the time wobbling her head at every word like most foregin students pick up abhinaya
d. No angasudhdhi, completely graceless,tum haro is like she just threw her head jwellery off to the floor
e. 01.11 looks like shes about to start doing dhak dhak karne laga..with her face to the side, eyes closed and hands going somewhere between alaipayudhe kanna and Jiya Jale |(
I can go on and on..
Please dont add adjectives to performances only because the dancer is wearing white and gold. The dancer is terrible.

[smala]

ksl - I defer to your superior judgement but then you are looking for technical details.

I found the dance mood set to the song, the dancer swaying naturally in performing various incidents, quite aesthetically pleasing with her willowy grace. Hence my use of the term 'ethereal.'

To me, many of the bharatnatyam dancers -- who are probably technically very correct -- seem angular, if not chunky in build, and too rigid in their postures and heavy in their foot movements. I like the soft flow, sinuous movements, delicate gestures - something that odissi and mohiniyattam provides. Then one falls in love with the artist. Just my view, you don't have to agree.

Alarmel Valli and few others are exceptions, of course.

[ksl]

Technical details?
details come in when the basics are right. Her faults are as glaring to see as a sruthiless singing. A dancer not in control of her body is like a singer out of control with her voice. Would you call such a performance ethereal?

I completely don't understand the argument.
If you like soft flow in Bharatanatyam watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA10Ob43c4s
If you want sinous movements watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0DvB6MOFQw
If you want delicate gestures watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrn8V3qkc5g

These are young ethereal dancers although they are from 3 completely different styles. Choosing between them is a matter of taste. Choosing between a good and bad dancer, even if in the same style, is not a matter of taste. If i were to find faults wit their technique, that would be a detail!

This is mohiniattam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7xLlm8C ... re=related
This is oddissi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbboaq1a0Rs&feature=fvst
None of the dancers are out of control of their upper body, none of them are sloppy and willowing. Softness is not impreciseness. Its fluid control. Delicateness is not sloppiness. Its grace. And being sinuous is not about not knowing where your body is moving. Its about knowing exactly where it is moving and making it move in tribhanga (odissi) or atibhanga (mohiniattam) circularly.

Of course you like Alarmel Valli.

[smala]

ksl, now take off that scathing critic hat, imagine you were invited to attend that arangetram and that you had to speak a few words to the girl at the end.

Find something you liked about the dance, just one thing. Go on, be fair.

And I promise to watch all those slippers you threw at me. 8)

[ksl]

To be fair, I think she can keep up a 8 beat song, although she completely doent know when the avartanam ends at 3.18, she memorised the hastas for the song in order and did them at the right spots (which is such a big thing for kids these days who dont know a word of hindi, tamil, telugu or sanskrit!)

Now you please be fair and tell me if this is really a 'performance of a lifetime'.

imagine you were invited to attend that arangetram and that you had to speak a few words to the girl at the end.
Is that why you found her ethereal? because you had to?
If i was at her arangetram, at the end if i face her, i would try to smile. Like this:

As an apology to all the slippers i threw at you, i watched her dance until 3.18.
When you praise completely unworthy performances, it is like throwing a slipper at all the deserving ones. Please bestow your worthy praises on worthy artists. I condone a lot of mediocre performances when people say things like that was wonderful and very good to them. But to look at a below average performance being termed as performance of a lifetime is like taking a slap. But if you liked it, you liked it. Cant say much, can i?

[smala]

"...Is that why you found her ethereal? because you had to....."

I had to... nothing.... just found her on youtube.

OK -- "performance of a lifetime" got you worked up.....withdrawn.

Peace (and chill).