PHYSICAL / WEBCAST  PROGRAMME

Choreographic work in Bharatanatyam presented by Vaibhav Arekar and artists of Sankhya Dance Company from Mumbai

Artists: Sushant Jadhav; Eesha Pinglay; Mrinal Joshi; Radhika Karandikar; Shruti Ranade; Anagha Harkare; Gautam Marathe; and Sachhidanand Narayankar  

Chief Guest: Shri N.N. Vohra, President, IIC

SHIVA….Facets of HIM

Sankhya Dance Company presents Shiva…Facets of HIM

Multiple choreographies woven together, Shiva interprets the male and female entities in the universe within the all-encompassing Shiva.

Shiva is nirguna-niraakara—or formless—but for mortals, he is perceived as saguna-saakaar—one with a form.

He is worshipped as   Ardhanarishvara (the form of Shiva–Parvati) and Hari-Hara (combined in the form of Shiva–Vishnu). HE is the only god who merges his identity into the concept of dual-principle godhead.

Shiva’s consort is the supreme untameable, universal energy, Shakti. Durga, the most splendid manifestation of Devi, has within her the power of all gods.

Nataraj—the cosmic dancer—represents the constant bio-dance of life-creation, sustenance and dissolution.

Presenting SHIVA—The Facets of Him

Vaibhav Arekar

Sankhya Dance Company, one of the leading dance companies from western India, was founded by Shri Vaibhav Arekar in 2009.  Sankhya’s forte is Bharatanatyam, and came as a natural extension of Vaibhav’s artistic vision to have a company of dancers who engage and invest purely in dance performances. He is one of the leading male Bharatanatyam soloists of India, and has trained under virtuoso teachers Smt. Saroja Srinath, Smt. Tangamani Nagarajan, and his mentor Dr. Smt. Kanak Rele. Vaibhav has done his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya, where he also taught for 15 years. He was instrumental in designing the diploma and degree syllabi for Bharatanatyam for SNDT University, Mumbai. 

His collaborative work in the genre of theatre–dance has created some milestone productions. His presentations Shreemant yogi premiered in 2017; Naama mhane—an awakening premiered in 2016; and Trayyanta (solo and group) premiered in August 2014 have received high critical acclaim and are regarded as model thematic works in Bharatanatyam. Vaibhav’s solo works have seen over 25 performances. They include:  Venugaan (2021); Debotar Grash, a work based on Tagore’s poem (2012); and Narmade Har Har, in praise of river Narmada (2009). He has performed as a soloist in India and abroad, and impressions and experiences from dance performances across the world, along with his creative impulse, have influenced Vaibhav’s performance and choreography. An intense, calm and immersive approach is his signature style.