(Photos: Gregory Job)
An exuberant and colorful extravaganza, the 18th annual
dance concert of Kruti Dance Academy (KDA) was
held at the Cobb Energy and Performing Arts Center on
Sunday, May 26th, 2013. This year’s concert was based
on the theme Navrang, or in English—colorful! Colorful
it was, in celebration of the academy’s artistic and
culturally-infused journey through music and dance.
The show was split into nine segments, highlighting
nine colors (White, Purple, Red, Green, Pink, Yellow,
Blue, Orange, and Black) with a kaleidoscope of 38
breathtaking dances, ranging from traditional Bharata
Natyam and folk pieces to Bollywood and fusion items.
Kruti Dance Academy’s students and alumni, of diverse
nationalities and age groups, performed innovative
and creative choreography in their shimmering
costumes to an extraordinary depth and range of wellchosen
music.
Each color depicted characteristics and personalities
of the students and talented instructors of the
academy, not to forget artistic director Shemoni Parekh
and guru Dina Sheth. The show commenced with the
color White, a color symbolizing virtue, purity of mind,
and simplicity. Kruti’s youngest performed traditional
invocatory dances to pay their respects to Lord Krishna,
Lord Shiva, and Lord Ganesh. Next followed the color
Purple, representing majesty and grace. Kruti students
showcased their incredible strength and skill in an effortless
manner as they portrayed Bharata Natyam at
its finest in items like “Tillana” and “Krishna Shabdam.”
The Red segment, symbolic of passion, excitement,
and energy, paralleled Kruti’s consistent drive to pursue
perfection and excellence. Energetic dances, such
as “Boom Boom” (Ajab Gazabb Love) set the stage on fire
as Kruti students utilized their artistic aggression and
dynamic power to create a vivid visual representation.
The next color, Green, focused on a healthy and positive
lifestyle. Items like “Guru Charanam” and “Gayatri
Mantra” reminded the audience of the need for a balanced
routine to ensure physical, emotional, and spiritual
health—aspects of life that Kruti students have
been taught to continuously strive for.
The items in the Pink segment ranged from “Tava
Rasa” (Jayadev’s Geet Govind), performed by the most
advanced Bharata Natyam students of the academy,
to one of the most popular songs of the year, “Radha”
(Student of the Year). These dances all portrayed the
unconditional love and romance embodied by the color
pink.
The Yellow segment, representative of enthusiasm
and joy, was filled with items like “Jiya Re” (Jab Tak
Hai Jaan) that contagiously kept the audience smiling.
Kruti munchkins enthralled the audience with their
heartwarming dances in the Orange segment, symbolic
of humor and mischief. The playful choreography and
fun-loving nature of the young students was most definitely
able to bring out the inner child of the audience!
Blue, the color of the sky and the sea, was given a
whole new meaning as Kruti students portrayed true
tranquility and fluidity in this segment through dances
like “Pani Da Rang” (Vicky Donor). The show came to
a close with the mystery, intrigue, and elegance of the
color Black. The most advanced students of the academy
showcased their skills to give the journey the
rightful end it deserved in items like “Rasiya” (Kurbaan)
and “Hurricane.”
The finale was the creative and rich Bharata
Natyam choreography performed to “Can’t Hold Us”
(Macklemore and Ryan Lewis) by the academy’s most
experienced arangetram students. It was beautifully
choreographed to display the nine colors mixing elegantly
as they should! Following the finale, respected
guru Dina Sheth announced proudly that due to the
dynamo efforts of her daughter and artistic director
of Kruti, Shemoni Parekh, KDA would be moving to a
brand new custom-designed dance studio in June, a
facility that is approximately 3 times the size of the
current studio and features state of the art dance
flooring, lighting, and audio capabilities.