Sri Sai Dance Academy and Kuchipudi Parampara Foundation (Bengaluru) present Nandanar Charitam

Brochure

Nandanar is the 18th of the 63 Nayanars, who were Tamil poet saints devoted to Lord Shiva. He was born in the village of Adhanur, Tamil Nadu, centuries ago, in an agricultural community considered untouchable. He lived with unwavering devotion to Lord Shiva, inspiring those around him to follow this path of faith. His immense devotion triumphed social barriers and prompted divine intervention that led him first to the Sivaloganathar Temple in Thirupungur, and then to the Thillai Natarajar Temple in Chidambaram, leading to the feet of His Lord. Nandanar’s life was memorialized in Sri Gopalakrishna Bharati’s Nandanar Charitam, which was in the kathakalakshepam genre in the Tamil language. Its songs have also been performed in Carnatic concerts and Bharatanatyam choreographies. 

Paying respects to Sri Gopalakrishna Bharathi’s magnum opus, today’s production presents the legend of Nandanar through the Kuchipudi nruthya natakam format, with a vibrant musical presentation that features original songs written in Telugu. This production has been conceived and choreographed by Acharya Deepa Narayanan Sashindran with Grant Support from Sangeeth Natak Akademi, New Delhi. 

Cast:  

• Saina Bhandari – Nandanar’s friend, priest  

• Saira Bhandari – Sutradhara, God 

• Anusha Chaluvadi – Apsarasa  

• Aadhya Cherukuri – Villager 

• Ramya Devalla – Villager, Goddess 

• Pavithra Kalay – Villager 

• Ameya King - Nandanar 

• Srivalli Kommaraju – Villager 

• Drithi Konatham – Villager, Goddess 

• Vindhya Nagandla - Sivagami 

• Pavithra Polepalli – Sutradhara, Goddess 

• Kamalita Rajagopalan - Landlord 

• Sahaj Sagiraju – Siva  

• Lakshmi Sagiraju - Goddess 

• Nikhila Sammeta – Villager 

• Saatvik Sista - Karthikeyan 

• Sahaasra Sista – Ganapati  

• Kala Subramani - Villager 

• Akshaya Tudimilla – Villager  

Credits:  

• Concept & choreography: Smt Deepa Narayanan Sashindran  

• Direction: Smt Sarada Jammi & Smt. Ameya King (Sri Sai Dance Academy)  

• Lyrics: Sri Venkat Gadepalli  

• Music: Smt Sweta Prasad & Sri Renuka Prasad 

• Lighting & Multimedia Design: Sri Janardhan Urs 

• Tour Curator: Smt Sandhyasree Atmakuri (Natya Dharmi Performing Arts) 

• Photography, Videography, and Brochure: Sri Hari Venkatesan (Lasting Impressions) 

• A/V Tech Support: Mr. R. Jon Shelley, Ms. Isabella Vincenzes, and team (Perkinson Center for the Arts) 

Sahaj Sagiraju will be presenting his rangapravesam, supported by live orchestra.

Anusha Chaluvadi will be presenting her rangapravesam, supported by a live orchestra.

ICAPS’s Richmond-il Thiruvaiyaaru celebrated Saint Tyagaraja’s works. As part of this festival, Ameya presented Venu Gana Loluni and Vindhya and Udhitha presented Kanugontini.

Ameya King presented an exploration of two of the Ashtavidha Nayika Avasthas by interpreting a Javali two ways.

Sri Sai Dance Academy Presents: Nruthyarchana by Ameya King

Smt. Ameya King will present original Kuchipudi Dance choreographies by her mother and guru Smt. Sarada Jammi as well as her own works, supported by a live orchestra.

Music will include featured compositions by Ameya's grandfather, Sri Tumuluri Satyagopal.

Orchestra:

• Smt. Sarada Jammi (nattuvangam)

• Sri Vignesh Nurani Subramanian (vocal)

• Sri Vijay Ganesh (mridangam)

• Dr. Saritha Gomadam (violin)

Ameya will be performing for an intimate live audience, as well as livestreamed online.

Join us for the program by registering here.

View the brochure.

Kuchipudi performance by Saira and Pavithra.

Solo Kuchipudi performance by Vindhya Nagandla, live-streamed here.

Summer Camp students present what they’ve been working on.

Solo Kuchipudi performance by Sahaj Sagiraju, live-streamed here.

Our heartfelt thanks to Sudha Kiranmayi Totapally and Nartanam Dance Academy for inviting us to be a part of the 2022 Siddhendra Aradhana.

1. Javali (Marulu Michera), composition and music of Dr. Balamuralikrishna. Choreographed and performed by Ameya

2. Murugan Krithi (Arul Seyya Vendum), composition by Sri Koteeswara Iyer. Choreography by Sarada Jammi, music recording by Sri DSV Sastry and team. Performed by Ameya

3. Thillana (Behag), composition of Sri Ponniah Pillai of the Thanjavur Quartet. Choreography by Sarada Jammi, music recording by Sarada Jammi (nattuvangam), Vignesh Nurani Subramanian (vocal), Villianur G. Lalitha (veena), Saritha Gomadam (violin), Vijay Ganesh (mridangam). Performed by Kum. Vindhya and Sri Sahaj

Ameya King presented two new choreographies as part of VAADA’s Guruparampara Festival.

Sarada Jammi and Ameya King will present dance pieces - see highlights here.

Students of Sri Sai Dance Academy will present dance pieces - please watch here.

Students of Sri Sai Dance Academy will present Kuchipudi choreographies of Narayana Theertha’s tarangams.

Summer camp students will share what they have been working on.

Ameya King will present a talk about her research through the lens of the Relationship Between Music & Dance.

Learn more here.

Sri Sai Dance Academy will present “Faces of Resilience,” featuring original choreographies by Smt. Sarada Jammi.

Learn more here.

Watch the presentation here.

Ameya King and Bindu Sagiraju, two Sri Sai Dance Academy dancers, will present their interpretations of poems by Lewis Feemster as part of W&M’s “The Untethered”.

Purchase your tickets here.

Ameya King and Kiran Rajagopalan will be tracing through the history of Kuchipudi to understand its various stages. Purchase your tickets at Prakriti Dance’s website.

Sarada Jammi’s choreographies will be presented as part of Aguas Arts Ink’s Deepavali Celebrations concert, featuring artists from around the world.