3rd Natya Ballet Dance Festival to be held from Nov 25

New Delhi, Nov 23 (PTI) The third edition of the Natya Ballet Dance Festival will be held here from November 25 with a grand array of performances and masterclasses by some of the most prominent names in Indian performing arts, including Kathak dancer Navtej Johar, puppeteer Dadi Pudumjee and Odissi exponent Sharon Lowen.

Organised by the Natya Ballet Centre, the three-day festival will be held here at Kamani Auditorium and Sangeet Natak Akademi.

The festival will host artistes and experts including celebrated dancers Anita Ratnam, Rita Ganguly, Shovana Narayan, Parshwanath S Upadhye, Vikram Iyengar, and critic Manjari Sinha.

The festival will showcase dance theatre "Unmasked" and "Abha" in Bharatanatyam and "Draupadi" in Odissi, retelling the timeless epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata with a twist in the tale.

The opening performance, "Unmasked" -- a delightful mix of Bharatanatyam, contemporary dance and English theatre -- will explore the character of Ravana through the eyes of his wife, Mandodari.

In the first of its lecture demonstration series, the event will showcase the ancient art of puppetry with award-winning puppeteers from West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, "Abha" is a retelling of the Ramayana through the eyes of Sita, with an unconventional delivery — paired with live musicians rendering soul-stirring music interspersed with verses in Mishra Awadhi, Kannada, Sanskrit and Marathi, with English narration.

The second lecture demonstration will entail the study of 'abhinaya' by eminent dancer Singh Johar.

On the last evening, the festival will present "Draupadi", exploring the status of the modern-day woman against the backdrop of the life of Draupadi in Mahabharata.

In a panel discussion, "Tabula Rasa", experts from the field of dance, media, and academia will discuss the subject of rebooting the dance space post-pandemic and pushing for solutions.

"We are especially delighted to be presenting the third edition of this grand festival of dance, with three superb evening performances rooted in the ancient epics to three detailed lecture demonstrations, a more serious panel discussion on how to reboot the dance and excellent conversations with living legends of dance and the outreach programme that is so close to our hearts," Radhika Hoon, chairperson, Natya Ballet Centre said in a statement.

The festival will come to an end on November 27. PTI MAH RDS RDS