The students of Maya Rao, the kathak exponent and the recipient of the 'Tagore Akademi Ratna', paid a tribute to her recently. They released a DVD which includes all that one needs to know about dance. The former ambassador of India to UNESCO, Chiranjeev Singh, was also present at the function.
The DVD is called 'Maya to Matter' and is a unique lecture-demonstration series featuring renowned choreographer Maya Rao. This is an initiative by her students to create a gateway to pass on her vast experience and knowledge to various art communities and document her work.
Her lectures are supported by dance demonstrations by her senior disciples. It is an important archiving of 70 years of the artistic journey of the legendary dancer.
"We are releasing this DVD so as to give an opportunity to those who want to learn dance from a legend. The lessons have been designed and choreographed in such a way that it becomes easy for those interested to learn the basics," says Madhulita Mohapatra.
"The abhinaya part of natya shastra has been documented in a detailed manner in the DVD. "All the lessons have been documented live and on different platforms as well as stages. This will help in giving a practical overview of the dance to those who want to learn abhinaya," adds Madhulita
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Chiranjeev Singh says that it is a great endeavour and will help a lot of people. "I have very fond memories of seeing Maya didi perform and her portrayal of 'Ras Leela' is incomparable. I don't think I have seen a better portrayal of Ras Leela after that," he informs.
The DVD comprises lecture demonstrations, dance lessons and live sessions on different aspects of dance. The students opened the session with a kathak performance based on Ganesh Vandana. It was performed by the alumuni of Maya Rao's dance school.
"We have got immense help from the ex-students of the school and they assisted us in compiling the DVD. When we came up with the idea, all the students from various parts of the country and abroad chipped in in various ways to make this venture successful.
The end result was a unique collection of Maya didi's works. We are glad that we did something like this" informs Madhulita.