‘Bharatnatyam’ Performance By Ganna Smirnova
Date: Sun Apr 28, 2013 - Thu Mar 28, 2013
Location: Asian Confluence Centre, Shillong , Hosts: Asian Confluence
Location: Asian Confluence Centre, Shillong , Hosts: Asian Confluence
Asian Confluence in collaboration with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), organized a Bharatnatyam recital by Ganna Smirnova from Ukraine. This programme was organized to celebrate the long standing cultural ties between the two countries who celebrated their 20th anniversary last year.
Ganna began her journey with the Indian classical dance Bharatnatyam in 1998, when she was awarded a scholarship by ICCR to study in New Delhi. She completed her post graduation under the guidance of Guru Jayalakshmi Eshwar. Ganna is an exponent of Bharatnatyam and one of the very few non-Indian artists empanelled under ICCR since 2004. She is also a teacher of Indian Dance in the T. G. Shevchenko National University (Kiev), and is the author of the book ‘Indian Temple Dances-Tradition, Philosophy and Legends’.
Ganna’s dance recital for a ‘baithak’ – a performance where the audience sit on the floor in a homely atmosphere – provided the perfect ambience to her enthralling performance. In her interaction with the audience, Ganna touched upon her life and her association with Indian tradition, culture and spirituality. “Indian classical dances are good for health, philosophical, aesthetically beautiful and raise the satisfaction level” she said.
Ganna also highlighted the strong economic ties that Ukraine and India share by drawing similarities between the Ukrainian brand of Paganism and Hinduism. She said, “The language that we speak in Ukraine has words similar to Sanskrit”. Ganna’s Nakshatra, a theatre of Indian dance at Taras Shevchenko National University, has been endlessly working for the promotion of Indian art and culture in Ukraine, besides fostering a very high level of understanding between the two countries.
Asian Confluence, which is known to promote an open space for cultural and intellectual exchanges, created a similar atmosphere with the performance by Ganna Smirnova. It not only imbibed the audience into an experience of sheer excellence, but also brought forward the strong friendship that the two countries share.
