Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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Our mission at Apsaras Arts. Video produced by National Heritage Board for Stewards of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Singapore Award 2020
Dear <<First Name>> “And in the end its not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” - by Abraham Lincoln This year has been an incredible journey at Apsaras Arts and indeed every moment counts! From newly produced digital performances to digital webinar Spotlight series ; from organizing a hybrid classical dance learning residency program at Dance India Asia Pacific to providing digital performance opportunities to our Academy students; from revamping a meaningful Devata https://mailchi.mp/apsarasarts/aavartana-june2020-edition-5066198
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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experience to receiving the most prestigious award for traditional arts in Singapore from National Heritage Board, 2020 has indeed filled up life with memorable moments. In our December edition, we are proud to feature our Managing and Artistic Director, Aravinth Kumaraswamyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acceptance speech at the NHB Awards ceremony. On special feature, we carry the terrific reviews of the screening of SITA, at Esplanade Theatres by the Bay. We are honored to receive a contribution from Naatyaachaarya. V.P.Dhananjayan in the distinguished Guest Column. This edition gives you a peek into the round up of the Spotlight webinar series held in the year, travel diary from the New York Kathak Festival by Shivangi Dake Robert and an interview with G Selva, Founder and Artistic Director of Avant Theatre. We sincerely thank you <<First Name>> for staying connected with us in the year digitally. Wishing you a Happy New Year! Yours truly, Soumee
Editor
Help Secure the Future of Apsaras Arts Join our campaign. 2020 has been a difficult year for us. With closure of venues and no international tours, our income has been severely impaired. Yet we have
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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continued with our work; adjusting to the new normal – creating digital productions, engaging the community with our multiple dance performances – featuring both our students and company dancers. We have also kept up with building our Indian arts fraternity in Singapore and around the world through Dance India Asia Pacific - focused lectures and lessons with industry stalwarts and shared our knowledge and experiences through our monthly newsletter, Aavartana. The easiest way to enable us to secure our future, is to make a donation by joining our campaign via Giving.sg – a verified charity portal via credit card. You can choose to give a monthly or lump-sum amount in Singapore dollars. Your donation is vital to our survival. Do support our work and we will do our upmost to contribute to the arts and make a difference. Join Our Campaign
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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Register your attendance for the Tribute
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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FEATURED ARTICLE :
Audience Reviews of SITA by Apsaras Arts Dance Company SITA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Insight into the life of Sita By Meenakshi Palaniappan Was bliss to be back at the Esplanade yesterday to watch Apsaras Arts Dance Company 's digital production of Sita. We got a glimpse into Ravi Varma's beautiful paintings and watched the art come alive through dance. The production took us back to our rich mythology, not just to celebrate but also to ponder and be disturbed by some aspects. Ramayana is beautiful but Sita's voice is silent for much of the text. Ravi Varma's paintings allow us to wonder about Sita further, what might have gone on in her mind. The dance brought these 'wonderings' to life. ... See More
SITA Beautiful Blend of Technology and Dance By Vidhya Venkat Firstly it was so refreshing to be back at the Esplanade recital studios , meeting some live audience and watching this digital production after a gap of many months. SITA is a first in many aspects - digital CGI production , remote control between Singapore and India , all costumes had to be made in Singapore these are probably a few . To me, it was a beautiful blend of technology and dance . It was a seamless blend . Each painting sprung to life and went back once the dance was over . I found that fascinating . There were a lot of moments in the production which made an impact on me personally. ... See More
Screening of SITA at the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay (20th December 2020) : Photo Album of special guests
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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Apsaras Arts Team : Ms Vidhya Nair (International Development Director), Mr Mohanapriyan Thavarajah (Resident Choreographer and Principal Dancer), Dr Ma Swan Hoo (Advisory Board Member), Ambassador K Kesavapany (Chairman), Mr Aravinth Kumarasamy (Artistic Director) and Ms Vijaya Nadesan (Prinipal, Apsaras Arts Academy)
Apsaras Arts team with special guests Ms Chang Hwee Nee (CEO, National Heritage Board), Mr Heng Swee Keat (Deputy Prime Minister, Republic of Singapore), Dr Uma Rajan (Chairperson Siglap South IAEC), "Kala Poshaka Mani" Mrs T Sundram and Ms Shobha Shankar.
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Apsaras Arts team with His Excellency Mr P Kumaran (High Commissioner of India to Singapore) and Mrs Kumaran
Apsaras Arts team with Ms Rosa Daniel (CEO, National Arts Council and Deputy Secretary (Culture), Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth) and Mr Patrick Daniel
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Apsaras Arts team with Mr Sat Pal Khattar and Family
SPECIAL FEATURE:
National Award for Apsaras Arts Dance Company Apsaras Arts received the National Award - "Stewards of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Singapore 2020" given by Singapore's National Heritage Board. This award was announced in June 2020 and the award ceremony was delayed to be held in December 2020 due to the current pandemic. The award was presented by the Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) at an elegant event held at the National Museum of Singapore. The ceremony also featured a traditional Bharatanatyam performance by our principal dancer Mohanapriyan Thavarajah, our senior dancers Seema Hari Kumar and Devapriya Appan. We are pleased to share the full script of the acceptance speech by our Artistic Director, Aravinth Kumarasamy. ... See More
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Minister for Culture Community and Youth Mr Edwin Tong, presenting the award to Mr Aravinth Kumarasamy, Artistic Director of Apsaras Arts Dance Company
Award acceptance speech by Aravinth Kumarasamy, Artistic Director, Apsaras Arts Dance Company
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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Team Apsaras Arts at the Award Ceremony: Ms Sankari Elavalahan (Arts Admin Manager), Dr Devapriya Appan (Senior Dancer), Ambassador K Kesvapany (Chairman), Mr Aravinth Kumarasamy (Artistic Director), Mr Mohanapriyan Thavarajah (Resident Choreographer and Principal Dancer), Ms Seema Hari Kumar (Faculty and Senior Dancer) and Ms Vidya Nair (International Development Director)
Minister with Team Apsaras Arts
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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Award Recipients with Ms Yeoh Chee Yan (Chairman of NHB), Minister Edwin Tong, Ms Chang Hwee Nee (CEO of NHB).
Performance by Apsaras Arts Dance Company: Dr Devapriya Appan, Mr Mohanapriyan Thavarajah and Ms Seema Hari Kumar
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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INTERVIEW :
“G Selva – A multi-personality artiste driven by passion & ambition” An exclusive interview with G Selva By Vidhya Nair “We should know that the audience out there is intelligent and discerning and patrons expect value for their time. To receive a worthy compliment from the audience is GOLD.” G Selva is a well-known media personality & theatre practitioner in Singapore. From a young age, he has performed as a actor on television and theatre and today, is an accomplished director & playwright of his own theatre company, Avant Theatre & Language which will be celebrating its 10th year anniversary in 2021. A tête-à-tête with him this month brought insights to his life’s journey and his varied artistic achievements and ambitions. .... Read More
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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Video Interviews with G Selva
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Tell us about your journey as a theatre Practitioner ?
In your opinion, what have you seen change in Bharatnatyam then and now?
FROM OUR TRAVEL DIARY :
Experiences from New York Kathak Festival By Shivangi Dake Robert https://mailchi.mp/apsarasarts/aavartana-june2020-edition-5066198
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;All set and ready! I was both excited and nervous before going on stage. Maharajji and Saswati didi were the chief guests of the festival. To perform a solo in front of them and to https://mailchi.mp/apsarasarts/aavartana-june2020-edition-5066198
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receive Maharajji’s blessings for the performance was definitely a dream come true!” Read more about Shivangi Dake Robert’s experience of traveling to New York in 2019 to perform and attend workshop at the NYKF! .. See More
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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DISTINGUISHED GUEST COLUMN:
A Lawyerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Legend : E. Krishna Iyer By Naatyaachaarya. V.P.Dhananjayan
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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“E.Krishna Iyer’s name should be etched in gold letters in the history pages of Bharatanatyam like Smt. Rukmini Devi” says, Naatyaachaarya. V.P.Dhananjayan, Founder & President, Bharatakalanjali in this article on his experiences and interactions with E. Krishna Iyer (9 August 1897 – January 1968) who was an Indian lawyer, freedom-fighter, classical artist and activist. .... See More
FROM THE BOOKSHELF: https://mailchi.mp/apsarasarts/aavartana-june2020-edition-5066198
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Aavartana December 2020 Edition. Personal copy of << Test First Name >>
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Apsaras Arts has made available a Dance Reference Library for dancers, teachers and scholars for research. In every issue of Aavartana, we will introduce a book meaningful to Indian Dance practitioners.
A GRAMMAR OF DANCE By Anjana Anand The Silappathikāram of Ilango Adigal (1AD) is a treasure-house of cultural information from the Tamil land of almost 2000 years ago. A Grammar of Dance looks closely at the third canto, Arangētru kādhai, which talks about the arangetram or debut performance of Madhavi, a courtesan in the Chozha court in Puhar. Ilango Adigal outlines the merits of a trained dancer, which include detailed knowledge of the technique of Kūtthu and its allied art forms. ... See More
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SPOTLIGHT Series (December 2020) : Hidden Truths â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Raja Ravi Varma: The Inside Story Featuring Mrs Rukmini Varma https://mailchi.mp/apsarasarts/aavartana-june2020-edition-5066198
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By Vidhya Nair
The December edition of Spotlight Series on the 13th featured Mrs Rukmini Varma on the topic: Hidden Truths â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Raja Ravi Varma: The Inside Story. The title comes from the book authored by the Mrs Rukmini Varma who is herself a leading Indian artist who paints in the classical tradition. It was interesting to learn of Raja Ravi Varmaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birth and the prophecy of his contribution.Born in 1940 as Princess Bharani Tirunal Rukmini Bayi Thampuran of Travancore State, Rukmini is the great-great granddaughter of the master painter Ravi Varma and custodian of his artistic legacy through the Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation. ... Read More
SPOTLIGHT Series was conceptualised and launched in April 2020, a brainchild of our resident choreographer Mr Mohanaproyan Thavarajah, enabled us to keep the dance community together during the lockdown periods during the COVID19 pandemic throughout the year. Its now a permanent feature in our calendar of events at Apsaras Arts. We share with you a round-up of the series that we curated and presented in 2020. https://mailchi.mp/apsarasarts/aavartana-june2020-edition-5066198
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DANCE VIDEO :
SITA by Apsaras Arts Dance Company https://mailchi.mp/apsarasarts/aavartana-june2020-edition-5066198
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Excerpts from SITA - By Apsaras Arts Dance Company
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