Aalaap

02/04/2025

We, at Aalaap, are excited to collaborate with Vidhya Subramanian and her Sparsha Dance Ensemble that is gearing up to premiere DAMARU: Duality, on July 13, 2025.

In the context of dance, Vidhya Subramanian, a Bharatanatyam artiste, who also founded Sparsha Arts Foundation which is into engendering conversation between the various arts, needs no introduction.

As a dear friend and a supporter of Aalaap for many years, we admire her thoughtful and sensitive portrayal of emotions and ideas across the many initiatives that she creates and supports in the context of the arts.

DAMARU is Sparsha Dance Ensemble's first-ever production with 8 dancers from across styles and traditions of dance including Vidhya Subramanian whose solo performances and works are so sought after and loved.

DAMARU is the explanation of the flow of energy between Purusha and Prakriti and it's manifestation in the very shape of the Damaru signifying the dualities that the universe holds.

We will allow you more insights into Damaru as the months go along but for now, as we gear up to welcome summer, let us save the date for Sparsha Dance Ensemble's DAMARU!



Vidhya Subramanian

21/03/2024

In April, just before the summer sets in in full force, we at Aalaap are excited to present to you Song Sung Dance, an evening of eclectic music inspired by poetry that celebrates the feminine spirit, by musician, Vandana Srinivasan of the Madras Mehfil.

Over several cups of coffee, Vandana and I put this idea together with an intent to also include Bharatanatyam into the mix and allow four artistes, friends of Aalaap, to present Abhinaya to four pieces that Vandana will perform with an able set of musicians.

After what seems like ages, we return to Spaces, one of our old-time favourite venues by the sea.

We are excited to have four dancers - Laasya Narasimhachaari, Priya Murle, Uma Sathyanarayanan and Vijna Vasudevan, perform abhinaya at what we are certain will be a beautiful evening.

We watched some beautiful excerpts from Bharathakalanjali’s Jharna festival where Vandana performed and we have been wanting to curate an evening like that!

We are excited it’s happening finally!
Limited seats only.

Click here for tickets.
https://www.mdnd.in/newevent/viewevent/ODc2MiMzNSMxMDEjMg== #

Akhila Krishnamurthy Vandana Srinivasan Renjith & Vijna Umasathyanarayanan

28/02/2024

One week to go for Chidambara Rahasyam!

As a precursor to the event, we are excited to have a conversation with the artistes of the Chidambara Rahasyam team. Tune in today, February 28 at 9pm for an Instagram live to listen to what Vinay Varanasi , Spoorthi Rao Spoorthi Rao and Varun Shivakumar Varun Shivakumar have to say about this interesting production which is a coming together of storytelling, music and dance.

Have you bought your tickets yet?
Click here for tickets
https://www.mdnd.in/newevent/viewevent/ODM0NCMzNSMxMDEjMg==

Akhila Krishnamurthy Music of Madras

27/02/2024

Chidambara Rahasyam is a production conceptualized and presented by Vinay Varanasi Vinay Varanasi and features talented artistes Spoorthi Rao Spoorthi Rao , Sruti Sarathy , Adamya Ramanand Adamya Ramanand and Varun Shivakumar . The production is a mix of storytelling, music and dance.

Chidambara Rahasyam will premiere in Chennai on March 7, Thursday at Narada Gana Sabha at 6:30pm, on the eve of Maha Shivarathri.

Check out this excerpt from the Chidambara Rahasyam event that premiered in Bengaluru, last month.

Tickets for the same are available on Music of Madras. This event is organised by Aalaap in association with Narada Gana Sabha, as part of their Smt Valliammal Endowment Programme.

🗓️ March 7, Thursday
⏱️ 6:30pm
📍 Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai
🎟️ Available on Music of Madras

Click here for tickets.
https://www.mdnd.in/newevent/viewevent/ODM0NCMzNSMxMDEjMg==

Akhila Krishnamurthy Music of Madras

26/02/2024

We at Aalaap are excited to be ringing in Maha Shivarathri with a unique thematic production, envisaged by storyteller/ artist Vinay Varanasi from Bengaluru with whom we have had the privilege of collaborating for three years now.

Friends of Aalaap, say hello to Chidambara Rahasyam that we are presenting in collaboration with Narada Gana Sabha Trust, as part of the Sri Valliammal Endowment programme.

Chidambara Rahasyam is a production conceptualized and presented by Vinay Varanasi Vinay Varanasi and features talented artistes Spoorthi Rao Spoorthi Rao , Sruti Sarathy Sruti Sarathy , Adamya Ramanand Adamya Ramanand and Varun Shivakumar Varun Shivakumar . The production is a mix of storytelling, music and dance.

This show premiered in Bengaluru last month and received an overwhelming response. We are so excited to bring it to Chennai.

We are also excited to be collaborating with Music of Madras , who comes on board as the ticketing partner for this production.

Click here for tickets.
https://www.mdnd.in/newevent/viewevent/ODM0NCMzNSMxMDEjMg==

Akhila Krishnamurthy Music of Madras

06/10/2023

We are privileged and happy to be giving a shoutout to Lalgudi Trust for their latest production Oozh: The Divine Destiny.

Talking about the idea of karma and fate, this is a Bharatanatyam dance production conceived and choreographed by Padmini Krishnamurthy, music and lyrics by the legendary sibling duo Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi.

The Indian premier of Oozh will be held on October 27, Friday at Narada Gana Sabha at 6:30pm. This production was first premiered for the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival in April 2023.

This event is open to all and folks in Chennai, don't miss this opportunity to watch a wonderful production. Watch this space for more details on the same.

Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi
Lalgudi GJR Krishnan
Sri Saraswathy Gana Nilayam

06/08/2023

For the past three weeks, we have been sharing posts as part of Puvvada Arts's revivalist project to revive the Keerthanalu's on Muvva Venugopalaswamy, written by Puvvada Sri Ramadasu.

Today we share the fourth and final song Ekkada Nunnavu, a Keerthanalu where Puvvada Sri Ramadasu is at the peak of his devotion to Muvva Venugopalaswamy. He searches for Krishna everywhere and pleads to the Lord to give him a darshan and liberate him.

The song is composed in Madhuvanti. But the flutist has taken the creative liberty of adding elements of DHARMAVATHI(which is the parent raga of madhuvanti) in it. Head to the link in Story to listen to the full song.

Kudos to the Puvvada family for documenting these precious gems and thank you Keerthana Vaidyanathan for infusing them with your music and imagination. And thank you Puvvada Arts for trusting Aalaap to amplify this to a larger universe.

Credits:
Composition and Vocals: Keerthana Vaidyanathan
Flute:Nikhilram TP
Music Production, Percussion, Mix & Master: Saurabh Joshi
Cinematography: Subash
Edit, D.I and Conceptualized by Bharath Vikram
Produced by Puvvada Arts
Project Inspiration: Puvvada Indira Devi and Late Sri Puvvada Thikkana Somayaji

Venu Puvvada Keerthana Vaidyanathan Ratna Gudipudi Meera Sridhar Geeta Sirisha bharathvikram

02/08/2023

If you are a dancer or have a keen interest in nattuvangam or an understanding and appreciation of rhythm, do not miss this video by Bengaluru-based dancer-choreographer-teacher and Nattuvangam artiste, Kiran Subramanyam, where he talks about the basic elements of rhythm- layam and talam - by giving simple examples to make us understand and establish the concepts for us.

Thank you Kiran ji for kickstarting this series for us! Stay tuned for more!

Kiran Subramanyam Rasika Arts Foundation Rasika Kiran

31/07/2023

We are very excited to kick off our Monday morning with The Rhythm Divine series, starting with our favourite Bharatanatyam and Nattuvangam artiste Kiran Subramanyam from Bangalore.

We all know of Kiran's expertise, especially in the field of nattuvangam, the one who charms the audience with his sweet, eloquent and rapid syllables and also with his interesting and creative jathi creations.

Watch out for more interesting interactions this week.

Kiran Subramanyam Kiran Subramanyam

Rasika Arts Foundation Rasika Kiran

25/07/2023

It has been a privilege for us at Aalaap to be a part of this very special revivalist project by Puvvada Arts. If you aren't aware of this project, Puvvada Arts is an art organisation that attempts to revive Keerthanalu's on Muvva Venugopalaswamy, written by Puvvada Sri Ramadasu.

Puvvada Sri Ramadasu was born in 1845 in Muvva village near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. He was born in the same village where Kshettrayya was born in 1595. Puvvada Sri Ramadasu composed hundreds of Keerthanas in praise of Muvva Venugopalaswamy and Gurazada Ramalingeswara Swamy. Unfortunately most of the Keerthanas are lost in time.

Last Sunday, we shared with you an excerpt of the Keerthanalu Jaya Rama Linga, sung by classical vocalist Keerthana Vaidyanathan, who added her beauty and magic to this already gorgeous poetry.

This Sunday we bring to you Rama Sadananda, a beautiful lullaby with soft and rhythmic words penned by Puvvada Sri Ramadasu, set to Neelambari raga and Adhi talam, composed and sung by Keerthana Vaidyanathan.

Neelambari is a ragam traditionally associated with the idea of lullabies and has the subtle sleep evoking, meditative quality about it. We love the sound and essence of this song.

We hope you enjoy it. Wishing you a happy Sunday.

Congratulations Puvvada Arts and Keerthana Vaidyanathan for this amazing revivalist project.

Keerthana Vaidyanathan Meera Sridhar Ratna Gudipudi Puvvada Gollanapalli Gollanapalli Gollanapalli Puvvada

Credits:
Composition and Vocals- Keerthana Vaidyanathan
Music Production- Prashanth Techno
Guitar- Akshay Yesodharan
Percussion, Mix & Master- Saurabh Joshi
Video- Ashish Joshi & Andrews Vincent
Editing- Ashish Joshi

Shot at Kariappa House, Pondicherry
Produced by Puvvada Arts
Project Inspiration- Puvvada Indira Devi and Late Sri Puvvada Thikkana Somayaji

Puvvada Sri Ramadasu was born in 1845 in Muvva village near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. He was born in the same village where Kshettrayya was born in 1595....

24/07/2023

We are very happy to announce that our Kaala Masterclass by Dr Anupama Kylash, will be conducted in hybrid - offline and online- mode. Many dancers and dance scholars from outside Chennai and from across the globe, were keen to participate in this Masterclass and keeping this in mind, we have now made Kaala available in hybrid mode.

Few instructions for the hybrid mode:
▪️Dancers in Chennai must definitely attend the Masterclass in-person.
▪️The timings of the Masterclass will remain the same irrespective of the time zone.
▪️Last date to register is August 5, 2023.

The Masterclass will be held at Medai- The Stage, Chennai on,
August 12- Saturday, 10am to 1pm
August 13- Sunday, 3pm to 6pm

To register for the Masterclass, click here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScrxUyJSkzaadyCFL-_IxnrYXxeIK1R2ii8115hBcynBi3W_Q/viewform?usp=sf_link

Anupama Kylash