Prathiba Natesan
A three times Indian national champion of
Bharatanatyam, Prathiba Natesan is also a Kathak dancer who believes that
art has to evolve with time. While retaining the grammar of the classical
framework and the Kalakshetra style, she utilizes modern interpretations in
her choreography. Prathiba was trained in Bharatanatyam by Gurus Smt.
Preethi Menon (Kalakshetra), Smt. Meenakshi Sagar (discipline of Guru J.
Suryanarayana Murthy of Kalakshetra), and Smt. Vardhini Subramaniam. She
received tutelage in Kathak from Guru Smt. Jigyasa Giri (student of Dr. Maya
Rao). She has performed widely in India, Thailand, and the United States.
Her other notable achievements include invited choreography and
participation in the critically acclaimed play, “The Great Celestial Cow”
which involved the training of 20 Indian and American students in Indian
dance, and the International Student Association’s “Best of Talent Show
Award”.
As part of her professional development, Prathiba engages in guest lectures
at various universities on “Classical dances in the Indian diaspora.” She
has been invited to speak at the Faculty Dance Concert symposium (Spring
2011) which is a world dance academic symposium that focuses on enhancing
the understanding of cultural fusion. Prathiba also served as the secretary
of SPICMACAY at Texas A&M University, where she received her Ph.D. in
Research, Measurement, & Statistics. She is currently Assistant Professor at
the University of North Texas where she teaches graduate level classes. She
continues to enhance her dance training by attending workshops by eminent
artistes including Priyadarshini Govind, Rama Vaidyanathan, and Shijith
Nambiar.
Modern dancers from the Department of Dance and Theatre, University of North
Texas
The modern dancers in this production are dance majors at the Department of
Dance and Theatre which is passionately engaged in creating live
performance, excellence in teaching, creative and critical inquiry through
interactive learning and experiential practice. There are 7 modern dancers
(Jordan Boyd, Allie Costello, Rosario Esquivel, Cassandra Farzan-Panah
(choreography), Ashley Meeks, Alexandria Rodriguez, and Nicole Secrest)
involved in Vibhaavam who have been trained in Classical Ballet, Jazz, Tap,
African, Hip-hop, and are now specializing in Modern Dance. They have
recently started learning the essentials of Bharatanatyam and are excited to
be part of this collaborative venture.
Vibhavam
Evolution, both cultural and human
is an interesting mystery. The idea behind Vibhavam is to portray cultural and
human evolution through the lens of dance. Bharatanatyam with its roots in the
Vedas and modern dance, with its roots in free thinking could not be more
different in philosophy and yet could embrace each other to form brilliant
compositions. We present cultural evolution through conjectures about the
Sangama period, and the modern era. We explore conflict through discrimination
(the vedic period until Indian independence in India and until the Civil Rights
movement in the west) and human evolution through love, shared experiences, and
rhythm (present to the future).
The presentation consists of three main segments: Evolution, dissension, and
resolution and features music from various genres including African, Carnatic,
Hindustani, jazz fusion, and modern classical.
Conceived by: Prathiba Natesan
Choreography: Cassandra Farzan-Panah, Prathiba Natesan, Lavanya Govindarajan,
and Megna Murali
Participants: Jordan Boyd, Allie Costello, Alexandra, Rosario Esquivel,
Cassandra Farzan-Panah, Lavanya Govindarajan, Ashley Meeks, Megna Murali,
Prathiba Natesan, and Nicole Secrest.