- Bharatakalanjali Productions
- Collaborations
- Students Productions
Bharatakalanjali Productions
Aikya Bhaaratam
The popular production has crossed more than 3000 presentations. A programme designed to integrate India through folk and classical dances from different regions, with authentic costumes, music and dance.
Chakra (Collaboration)
Chakra, on the philosophy of life, staged in NY was a mammoth production with 1000 school children of various nationalities participating in it. A production of the National Dance Institute, New York, it was directed by famous choreographer Jacques D’Amboise.
Chandaalika
The famous story by Rabindranath Tagore against casteism is about an untouchable girl’s rebellion against the oppression and stigma of untouchability. This dance drama on a Buddhist theme has original music and poems by Rabindranath Tagore.
Cultural Panorama of Tamilnadu
It is a mammoth production involving 100 artistes. It uses modern technology of slide projection and audiovisual technique incorporated with live dancing and music (both folk and classical).
“During MGR’s tenure as Chief Minister, minister Veerappan who had heard of our work with folk forms, invited us to present a cultural panorama. There were about a 100 folk artists involved in this massive project. We refined their presentations, gave them new costumes and performed 3 shows at a packed Kalaivanar Arangham auditorium. The program was an eye-opener as it represented the whole cultural panorama of Tamilnadu on a single stage, with nadaswaram, therukoothu, karagam, kavadi, pinnal kolattam and so on. The same program was presented at the Tamilnadu Assembly and MGR awarded us a shield. This initial exposure to folk forms impelled V R Devika, to work with folk artists, something she does to this day.”
Daivakaarunyam
Dasaavataaram
Description of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu as narrated by Jayadeva. C V Chandrasekhar has composed the music in 11 classical ragas.
Dhanwanthari
Bharatakalanjali was commissioned to produce in a dance drama form, the mythological story describing the emergence of the celestial physician Dhanwanthari, by the Corporate body Medimix Company for the occasion of the World Conference on Ayaurveda-2000 (The Indian indigenous practice system of medicine). First time presented on 28th January 2000.
Ekaantha Seetha… a lonely furrow (2006) (Collaboration)
Ekaantha Seetha – a true dance drama, with dance, music, and drama as intrinsic components. It is a celebration of women of extraordinary courage and character, of such gumption and grace. It spans three different time zones – the first episode is based on Ramayana’s Vaidehi as the “Veera Arya Kanya,” the second on historic Rani Lakshmi Bai and the third on a modern-day heroine Aparajita.
Ghanashyaam – A Broken Branch (1989 / 90) (Collaboration)
Ghanashyaam was a musical theatre, the story conceived by Ravi Shankar himself. Ever since Ravi Shankar saw the Dhananjayans perform, he was keen to work with them on this dance drama. He got the opportunity when his fans and friends like George Harrison asked him to do something for his 70th birthday.
International Young Performers Tour (2007) (Collaboration)
Creative Connections presented twelve talented 12 to18-year-old Indian dancers from the Dhananjayans’ Bharata Kalanjali Academy to the Tri-State area this autumn.
Punyakoti (Animal stories-cow & lioness), Mohini Bhasmaasura (Mythology), Folk dances like Bhangada, Santhali, Raasa and Kurathikummy, representing north to south and east.
Jungle Book (1995 – 97) (Collaboration)
A joint venture of Ohio Ballet Co., Cuyahoga Community College and Cleveland Cultural Alliance, Heinz Poll, Director, Ohio Ballet, and V P Dhananjayan, Director, Bharata Kalanjali jointly choreographed this 90-minute production.
Jungle Book – Adventures of Mowgli (1984) (Collaboration)
Rudyard Kipling’s Indian Jungle story retold in dance and mime, choreographed by Dhananjayan for Academy of Indian Dance in London, is a contemporary presentation with innovative and creative movements deployed to bring in the beauty of Nature. Music: Pt. Vijayaraghava Rao.
Kaadal Valli Kanda Murugan (revived) (2016)
A mythological story in Tamizh written by Periyasami Thooran and music set by Turaiyur Rajagopala Sarma & Madurai Sethuraman, “Kaadhal Valli Kanda Murugan” narrates the much-celebrated Tamizh love story of Valli, a tribal chieftain’s daughter. Her undying love for Lord Muruga is told with all its colour and humour.
Kaathal Valli Kanda Murugan / Sri Valli (Tamizh) (1975)
A mythological story in Tamizh written by Periyasami Thooran and music set by Turaiyur Rajagopala Sarma, a well-known music composer in films during the forties, who also composed many dance dramas in Kalakshetra. This production involves both classical and folk style in both music and dance.
Kaaliya Mardanam
Narayana Bhattatiri wrote about Dasavatharam in the form of Narayaneeyam in Sanskrit. Kaliya Mardanam, the story of Krishna dancing on the hood of the serpent Kaliya is a beautiful chapter from it. Music is by Reji George. The first half is about Kaliya and how he polluted the river. When Satyajit was young, he portrayed the little Krishna. The beautiful Kaliya Mardhana Thillana of Oothukadu was incorporated to conclude the item. Half an hour in duration, this item is used as part of an evening’s presentation.
A few Kalari movements are used to highlight the struggle between Krishna and Kaliya.
Karuna (Compassion)
A beautiful piece of Malayalam poetry by the poet laureate Kumaranasan is a Buddhist theme promulgating the idea of love and compassion to the needy.
Kumaarasambhavam – Return of Spring (Collaboration)
A production by the Academy of Indian dance in London was choreographed by Dhananjayan, which saw classical theme in a contemporary vein of presentation. Music by Vidwan T V Gopalakrishnan.
The Arts Council of England invited the Dhananjayans to do another production, this time on a mythological theme. They adapted Kumarasambhavam, a completely Sanskrit work. In contrast to Jungle Book, which had no lyrics, some lyrics were used in Kumarasambhavam. T V Gopalakrishnan entered the field of dance by composing music for this dance drama. Rajkumar Bharati gave vocal support.
After doing the choreography and composing the music, Dhananjayan taught the whole thing to his students Unnikrishnan (settled in UK) and Venkatachalapathy who had just left Kalakshetra. Venkatachalapathy went to London and the whole dance drama was executed on London based artists.
In order to make the production more accessible to the audience, Narada was the sootradhar who gave explanations in English. Narada would be a character in the dance drama as well as a narrator.
Maadhavageetam
It is a Tamizh translation of Jayadeva’s Gita Govindam, with lyrics and music by Smt. D Pattammal. Unlike Radha Madhavam, Madhavageetam was conceived as a complete dance drama with the characters of Radha, Krishna, Gopis and other characters. Simple and elegant, it conformed to a traditional dance drama presentation.
Magdalana Mariyam
It is the Christian story of Mary Magdalene in Malayalam, with lyrics by poet Vallathol Narayana Menon. The lyrics were set to tune by the Dhananjayans and sung by Kalyani Menon. The now-famous Unni Menon, who was a novice at that time, also sang for it.
It was choreographed for Madras Doordarshan TV channel for the Vallathol Centenary celebrations in 1977
Mahaabhaaratam (Collaboration)
This dance drama was jointly produced by French Theatre Flurry & Association Vaani in Reunion French Island in April 1998 and was performed in 28 cities in USA in 1999. With more than a 100 in the cast, Mahaabhaaratam was presented in Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai, in February 1999 as part of a fundraising drive to renovate the Sabha auditorium.
Nandanaar Charitam
Nandanaar story promulgates the philosophy of God – equal love for all creations without the discrimination of caste, creed, religion, low or higher birth. Poet Gopalakrishna Bhaarathi’s musical opera “Nandanaar Charitam” is immortal Tamil literature suited for singing, dancing, and reading. (Musical direction for this production – by late Sri. Turaiyur Rajagopalasarma & Sri. Mani Iyer).
Navarasa
Episodes predominant with the nine emotions are presented using both Kathakali and Bharatanatyam styles intermittently. Songs are in Tamil, Telugu, and Sanskrit as well as instrumental passages. This is both educative and entertaining.
Nritya Tarangini
Nritya Tarangini (Ripple of dance) is a unique presentation of group choreography in Bharatanatyam with subjects relating to nature and the human body. Dr. Balamuralikrishna’s Kadanakutuhala Tillana is the piece de resistance in this dance presentation.
Purush
As the name suggests, it was an all-male item done by 20 male dancers for the IDA (International Dance Alliance) conference in 1990. The production made the use of instruments like nadaswaram and tavil for music, something not very common these days. The dancers froze into many sculpturesque poses and the item was called Nritta Shilpam, sculptures in dance.
When Dhananjayan conducted the Natya Kala Conference in 1995, the theme was Purush. It focussed on the contribution of male dancers down the ages. The inspiration came from the Purush Festival conducted by Bharat Bhawan of Bhopal for which Dhananjayan was invited.
Raadha Maadhavam
The twelfth-century love lyrics by Jayadeva in Samskritam has songs ideal for interpretations in dance. Some of the musical scores in this production is by Dhananjayan.
Sangeetha Maaruthi
Hanuman, the presiding deity for music and an embodiment of bhakti and humility is not part of the traditional dance repertoire; no one had attempted a full-length feature on him. This production focuses on the power and majesty of Lord Hanuman. It is the story of Hanuman’s birth and various attributes of the monkey god.
Sanghamitra
A dance drama in Samskritam, written by Prof. V Subramaniam of Carlton Univ., Ottawa, depicts the transformation of King Ashoka from a warmonger to a peace-loving king. This is a Buddhist theme. The costumes and choreography are different in their originality, reflecting the historical period. Music: Turaiyur Rajagopala Sarma.
Satyam Sivam Sundaram (Collaboration)
An ecumenical theme, the concept of everlasting philosophy that Truth is one, but the paths are many. Simple Tamizh poetic verse written by poet Prof. Muthukannapar.
Shiva Sakthi Vel
Poet Shemmanar Koil Shanmugam’s Tamizh poems on the birth of Muruga is a gripping dance drama with just three characters Shiva, Parvathi and Kartikeya. Music is by Reji George and T K Padmanabhan under the guidance and direction of Dhananjayan.
Sitaa Raama Kathaa / Raamanaatakam
The epic story is presented without characterized costume, but with emphasis on just body and facial expression. Music: Turaiyur Rajagopala Sarma. Lyrics: Arunachala Kavirayar.
Sita Swayamvaram
(Tulsidas Raamaayana in Hindi)
The epic story of Raama’s wedding with Sita is completely tuned into Hindustani music by Pt. Rama Rao and is a beautiful fusion of north-south dance & music.
Sri Krishna Jananam
a new production commemorating the 40th anniversary of Bharatakalanjali premiered for ISKCON, Bangalore for their annual Festival.
Produced by Bharatakalanajli with partial funding from ISKCON
Artistic direction & production co-ordination: V.P.Dhananjayan
Choreography: Prof. A. Janardhanan, artiste and former Principal of Kalakshetra, Chennai
Music composition: Mysore S. Rajaram, Former Director, Kalakshetra, Chennai
Dancers: Bharatakalanjali Artistes & Graduates from Kalakshetra, Chennai
Sri Thyaagaraaja Vaibhavam
Sri Thyaagaraaja Vaibhavam is a theme conceived by S Viswanathan of Kalamandir Trust and presented the first time for the fund collection of the Thyagaraja Vidwat-Samajam on June 21, 1992, at the Music Academy, Chennai.
Stree (The Woman)
A biblical theme in Tamil, written by Justice Nainar Sundaram with music by Dhananjayan is a very innovative stage presentation with suggestive costumes. This goes with the contemporary theatre movements and is very effective as a social theme.
Thiruk-Kural Bharatam
THIRUK -KURAL in Bharatanatyam choreographed by the Dhananjayans & performed by Kavitha, Meera, Anjana from the USA.