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Bharata Natram Dance of India
by Emily Edahl
Serene orange light and a prop-less stage greets the audience of Priyadarsini Govind's Bharata Natram Dance of India. The steady, soothing shine of a hard-working techie's invention spreads smoothly across the wood floor, glaring off of a number of large, flat pillows on the far left and the musicians perched cross-legged on top of them. The orange dissipates and a single beam focuses in and glows on these musicians, who grace the production with mellow vocals, an uncharacteristically expressive drum, and a sweetly played violin. Then the lights once again forget to favor a specific life force and as darkness rises from the stage, the viewers see that Priyadarsini Govind, the glorious performer of the piece, has magically appeared.
Ms. Govind's production is a medley of traditional Indian dance, pairing a religious tribute often performed in temples with a small series of little stories of life. The former takes up the entire first half of the show, with Ms. Govind, the solitary dancer in the piece in a brightly hued costume, glittering with spots of gold embroidery. Her wrists and ankles are dressed in tinkling gold bracelets, which ring so delicately that it gives the impression that all of this woman's culture is musical. Even the braid down her back has a bell fastened at its tip. Her motions are quick, exuding fierce devotion in the first act, but are perfectly controlled. She knows what she is doing when she leaps quickly, landing on her feet. She is balanced, and the rest of the world is balanced while watching her completely captivated in her existence.
The second half continues to flatter Ms. Govind's ability, both as a dancer and as a storyteller as she bounds through the spotlight, displaying life's individual moments of preciousness. She plays a married woman seducing her lover, a person influenced by the gods, and, most movingly, a mother watching her baby take his first steps. In the mother's segment of time, it feels almost as though the whole audience has become her child, being caressed and comforted by this adoring woman who has handed her heart out to the world. Ms. Govind's performance is warm, accompanied by soothing music, and an aesthetically pleasing thing to see. It is quite difficult to forget her happiness.
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