Kalamandalam Sugandhi

"Kalamandalam Sugandhi is an exponent in the field of Mohiniyattam and a fine mentor to numerous disciples. She is a recepient of numerous awards ,even the prestigious "President's award 2005 " . Her Group choreography , bringing together 1200 Mohiniyattam dancers in Kerala won her a place in the Guiness book of world records.Her literary prowess is reflected in her translated work "Bharatakala lakshanam" and her recent book "Hastaratnakaram".

Ms. Sugandhi distributed a small token of our Thanks to the Artists who helped us raise the donations,by spending some of their valuable time with us.

Fusion

This group dance was a fusion of medley of three movie songs.Don't they look cute and wonderful,in the finery.Jaya helped all the team kids in getting ready there were parents,others who helped,Thanks.Great job by all the 3 teams.

Dandiya

Dandiya group dance , had a nice Tamil beat which has your hands clapping to the beat.. the kids loved the song.. the boys in this team although hesitant about dancing..enjoyed it once they realised sticks were used to beat a rhythm.. We would like to Thank Nanditha prabhu for helping in cheorographing,teaching all the three groups, also we would like to Thank all kids, parents and all others who helped us in getting costumes , jewels ,help with make up and getting kids dressed.

special Thanks to Viju for helping in operating the stage curtains,Alan and others on his team for doing the mikes, music etc.all those who helped set the stage up and remove it.

Divine Angels

This group called themselves" Divine Angels"..

"kannodu kanpathellam"....its a semiclassical tamil movie song.They danced to this tune.. the smallest to the big kid in the group did a excellent Job.One kid, although was not well and had just been discharged from Hosp with sheer determination and will power got her parents to bring her .. and Boy! Oh boy! she did great steps too.. hope others young and old,can learn to keep this kind of commitment in their daily lives too.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL and help each one of YOU DO THE SAME IN YEARS TO COME.

THANK YOU-Honorable Artists

Three cheers to all our guests and their friends for a well performed program.Thank You all once again.
Aji Joseph , from our area is a folk artist , His art was well received by all.He was accompanied by Jacob uncle,Vincent,V's brother-in -law , and their friend.Thanks to all Who helped Folk artist get ready with his costume.
If anyone has more info about Aji .J . kindly update the blog.. or do write it in the comments.

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Urmila Varma is a graduate in music and used to be an A-grade artist in All India Radio. She was the winner of many of the music competitions both in the school & college levels and used to perform in professional orchestras in Kerala.Urmila has couple of music albums to her credit including the recently released "Vismaya" in which she has performed with prominent carnatic musician Dr.Sreevalsan J Menon.
She is a leading singer in Metro Detroit area who secured first place in a National-level singing contest organized by FOKANA in 2007.
================================================================ Urmila did 3 songs for us.

The description of dawn is followed by an instrumental piece , where Nanditha portrays life on the farm ....The ploughing, sowing and harvest.... an intricate part of kerala life."
Having been initiated into the realm of performing arts at a very tender age, Nanditha was fortunate to have been raised in a creative environment. Kalamnadalam Sugandhi, her mother a legend in her own right, has the reputation of being amongst the finer mentors in the field. Experience and exposure Nanditha gained while accompanying her mother in performances across India gave her a substantial grounding in dance. Her pursuit of academic excellence, continued on a parallel front as she completed her masters in English literature from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala. Knowledge of classical music, being a crucial asset for an Indian classical dance she also acquired the Ganabhushanam degree from RLV music academy in Kerala. Fascinated by the distinctive and alluring style evolved by Dr Padma Subramaniyam, the most accomplished classical dancer in India today, Nanditha signed up as her student and graduated to the advanced Nrithyashali course, which primarily dealt with mastering the 108 karanas or frozen dance movements depicted as sculptures in South Indian temples. Travelling to various countries especially in Asia Pacific (Japan, Taiwan & South Africa) - Nanditha served as an able ambassador of Indian culture . She is the recipient of Senior Scholarship in Mohiniyattam from Ministry of Culture, Govt of India.

Nanditha performed 2 classical pieces. One song was from the famous movie"Manacharithrathazhu" song "Oru murai vaandu pa..th..aya"..which was done on popular demand by some of our members. The other song was from " Vismaya" Cd.and a instrumental piece .
Nanditha and Urmila sent us some information for announcements (MC's-Thomas ,Mini) could use only some information. Just copied the information here for all.

Games

Kids had lots of fun outside on the game stalls. We saw some great fun with the ring toss and bean bags. Several happy faces who won prizes