My Favourite Dance Sequences - Part 2
This is in continuation of an old list I had made of dance videos that caught my fancy for one reason or another. This is not purely about technical skill, but about artistic expression and performances that touched my heart or got me excited. To check out the Part 1 of this list, use the dance tag at the end of this post.
28. Maye - Parshwanath Upadhye
This is a serene Bharatnatyam performance set to a calming song and in verdant green locales during the Monsoon season. Great way to start the day.
29. Krishna New Begane Baaro - Rukmini Vijayakumar
This is a pure natya (expressive narration) piece by the beautiful Bharatnatyam dancer where her acting skills totally help you see a little Krishna frolicking around her. It is set to Udupi's favourite devotional song (my mother says her grandfather used to sing this for the evening puja), rendered here by the famous Carnatic singer sisters - Ranjani and Gayathri.
30. Ergo Uma Rosa - Maria Pagès
Flamenco is more Nritta than Natya but, my favourite bailaora and her beautiful arms come pretty close with this piece interpreting a Portuguese poem.
31. Utopía - Maria Pagès
This is my favourite piece from Maria Pagès' show Utopía. I do not know what this individual piece is called but she is absolutely mesmerizing in her white bata de cola looking like a mermaid rising our of the waves. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the whole piece online. (The end is especially beautiful!) So, here is a snippet from the beginning of the performance.
32. Guajira (Flamenco Viene Del Sur) - La Lupi
I am a sucker for good braceo. La Lupi really surprised me with this elegant Guajira. (I am not casting aspersions on her dancing skills. It was just that until this one I had only seen her dance Tangos in her signature goofy style.)
33. Spanish National Day performance for the Spanish Embassy in UAE - Rocío Molina
Now getting into the pure Nritta core of Flamenco, here is the radical bailaora Rocío Molina producing a beautiful percussive piece in a lovely little grove. She is pure genius.
34. Martinéte (Sabores) - Sara Baras
And Sara Baras is back on the list with this very emotional but extremely percussive piece set rather unusually to the palo of Martinéte. This palo harks back to the roots of Flamenco with the rhythmic hitting of the hammer by the gypsy blacksmiths in the forges of Andalucia. I have never seen it danced before.
35. Adiye (Kadal) - Brindha (choreographer) and her backup dancers
This song caught my attention as much for the Jazz composition by A R Rahman as for the contemporary choreography in Indian folk costumes in the middle of an arid plain. The back-up dancers obviously upstage the actors playing the protagonists (though the male lead has done a decent job of keeping up). I just love how everything about this piece is so eccentric. If you are wondering why this song sounds like a church choir singing, it is because the male protagonist is a Christian fisherman and this song is meant to express his devotion to and fascination for his lady love who he is "following like a young lamb" (got this from a translation of the Tamil lyrics). Rahman felt using Gospel music as an inspiration for this song would be a great metaphor for the feeling being expressed. (I love the way his mind works!)
28. Maye - Parshwanath Upadhye
This is a serene Bharatnatyam performance set to a calming song and in verdant green locales during the Monsoon season. Great way to start the day.
Click to view29. Krishna New Begane Baaro - Rukmini Vijayakumar
This is a pure natya (expressive narration) piece by the beautiful Bharatnatyam dancer where her acting skills totally help you see a little Krishna frolicking around her. It is set to Udupi's favourite devotional song (my mother says her grandfather used to sing this for the evening puja), rendered here by the famous Carnatic singer sisters - Ranjani and Gayathri.
30. Ergo Uma Rosa - Maria Pagès
Flamenco is more Nritta than Natya but, my favourite bailaora and her beautiful arms come pretty close with this piece interpreting a Portuguese poem.
31. Utopía - Maria Pagès
This is my favourite piece from Maria Pagès' show Utopía. I do not know what this individual piece is called but she is absolutely mesmerizing in her white bata de cola looking like a mermaid rising our of the waves. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the whole piece online. (The end is especially beautiful!) So, here is a snippet from the beginning of the performance.
32. Guajira (Flamenco Viene Del Sur) - La Lupi
I am a sucker for good braceo. La Lupi really surprised me with this elegant Guajira. (I am not casting aspersions on her dancing skills. It was just that until this one I had only seen her dance Tangos in her signature goofy style.)
33. Spanish National Day performance for the Spanish Embassy in UAE - Rocío Molina
Now getting into the pure Nritta core of Flamenco, here is the radical bailaora Rocío Molina producing a beautiful percussive piece in a lovely little grove. She is pure genius.
34. Martinéte (Sabores) - Sara Baras
And Sara Baras is back on the list with this very emotional but extremely percussive piece set rather unusually to the palo of Martinéte. This palo harks back to the roots of Flamenco with the rhythmic hitting of the hammer by the gypsy blacksmiths in the forges of Andalucia. I have never seen it danced before.
35. Adiye (Kadal) - Brindha (choreographer) and her backup dancers
This song caught my attention as much for the Jazz composition by A R Rahman as for the contemporary choreography in Indian folk costumes in the middle of an arid plain. The back-up dancers obviously upstage the actors playing the protagonists (though the male lead has done a decent job of keeping up). I just love how everything about this piece is so eccentric. If you are wondering why this song sounds like a church choir singing, it is because the male protagonist is a Christian fisherman and this song is meant to express his devotion to and fascination for his lady love who he is "following like a young lamb" (got this from a translation of the Tamil lyrics). Rahman felt using Gospel music as an inspiration for this song would be a great metaphor for the feeling being expressed. (I love the way his mind works!)