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SMT.
SUCHETA CHAPEKAR: Born on 6th December 1948.
An artiste of rare individuality, acclaimed as one of the finest Bharat Natyam exponents. Trained in Guru Shishya tradition by such stalwarts as
Acharya Parvatikumar of Bombay and Guru K.P.Kittappa of Tanjore.
ACADEMICS: Master of Fine Arts (Dance),
Ph.D. ("Sangitacharya") G.D.Art (Applied Art)
PERFORMANCE ATTRIBUTES: Known for the
purity of technique as well as innovation. Grace and perfection in pure
dance restrain and subtlety in Abhinaya (expressional dance) mark
Sucheta’s performances. Lucid explanations and lilting musicality.
SPECIAL QUALITY: During the active career
span of the past thirty years, Sucheta has made a distinct mark and
substantial contribution as a dancer, teacher, researcher and
choreographer which is listed below -
SUCHETA
- THE DANCER: Consistently performing since 1964 given innumerable
solo performances all over India and abroad in Dance festivals as well as
under the aegis of various well known organizations, the important ones of
which include Savai Gandharva Festival - Pune, Khajuraho Festival - Madhya
Pradesh, Ellora Festival - Aurangabad, Sharadotsava- Agra, Pongal Festival
- Madras, Kalidas Utsava - Nagpur, Dharanikotsava - Cochin etc. and
National Center for Performing Arts, Nehru Center - Bombay, Shanmukhananda
and Bharatiya Music Sabha - Bombay, Sangeet Natak Academy, India
International Center - New Delhi, Kala Academy - Goa, Music Academy,
Krishna Gana Sabha - Madras, Sangeet Research Academy - Calcutta,
Prasiddha foundation Bangalore, World Marathi Congress - Hyderabad, etc.
She is a top-grade artiste of Doordarshan (Indian Television) and has been
featured in national and regional program on TV
SUCHETA - THE TEACHER: Has been teaching
through her own private classes since past twenty-five years. She is the
founder and source of inspiration of the 'Kalavardhini Trust' a dance
institution. A popular and accomplished teacher, she is also a visiting
professor at the faculty of Performing Arts, Pune University. Has trained
a number of talented young dancers, teachers and choreographers. Her
disciples also include professional dancers from abroad for whom she
conducts intensive residential courses. She and her accomplished disciples
have formed Kalavardhini Dance Troupe.
SUCHETA
- THE RESEARCH SCHOLAR: has made a valuable contribution to Bharat Natyam repertoire through her research and presentation of the hereto
unknown Marathi compositions of the Tanjore Maratha rulers (17th to 19th
century). Her articles on this and other aspects of dance have been
published in journals, periodicals & books. She is also famous for her
expertise in lecture-demonstrations. Has conceived and presented a variety
of programs for television's nationwide classroom shows to popularize
classical dance among youth. Has done extensive work on the dance
sculptures of medieval period in Maharashtra in relation to the
Natyashastra tradition.
"Nritya-Ganga" is her unique creative style of performance in
which she has been able to achieve a perfect blend of Bharat Natyam - the
south Indian dance system and Hindustani music. This is the outcome of her
analysis that has helped in bringing the lay audiences all over closer to
classical dance.
SUCHETA: THE CHOREOGRAPHER: Sucheta's
repertoire is vast. To the traditional compositions learned from her Gurus
she has added a number of pieces in all the languages and types. In her
new creative style 'Nritya Ganga' she has choreographed more than 65
compositions and is ever adding new to it. Since 1997 Sucheta has
successfully ventured into contemporary choreography. A full-fledged group
production "From Darkness to Dawn" conceived and directed by her
is based on Pt. Nehru's famous book "Discovery of India" and
accentuates the ancient Indian cultural values. Sucheta's choreography and
performance of two of the Rabindranath Tagore's poems presented as part of
"Battery dance company, New York's production 'Songs of Tagore' has
been praised for its beauty of grace and expression. Here's how Indian
press has noted Sucheta's achievements since 1970s.
AWARDS
WON BY SUCHETA INCLUDE: "Maharashtra Gaurav" State
Govt.'s top award for excellence in the field of dance.
"Nritya Vilas" - by Sur Singar Sansad, Mumbai.
''S.L.Gadre' award - Maharashtra Seva Sangh, Mulund, Mumbai.
'Mahila-Jeevan Gourav' award (Life time achievement award) by Stree
Vimochan Trust - Pune'.
SUCHETA'S NEW CREATION - "NRITYA GANGA”:
(A Synthesis of Bharat Natyam and Hindustani Classical Music)
Bharat Natyam has always been synonymous with Carnatic (South Indian)
music and the languages of south India. The inspiration for restructuring Bharat
Natyam with Hindustani Classical Music came from Sucheta's earlier
research and presentation of the Carnatic Music compositions of the 17th
century Maratha rulers of Thanjavur. The study and presentation of these
old compositions in Marathi languages written for Bharat Natyam made her
aware of the fact that the synthesis of Bharat Natyam and Hindustani
Classical Music can be useful and relevant to the present times, when Bharat
Natyam is emerging as an all India style.
She started the study and practical experiments on this project since
1980. While achieving this synthesis, she wanted to keep the purity and
original values of the dance form as well as music. She did not want it to
be a translation or a transplant. She wanted the soul Bharat Natyam to
take roots in the system of Hindustani Classical Music so that the
offspring would have it's own identity and individuality while
assimilating the important and beautiful aspects of the Carnatic dance and
the Hindustani music system. To achieve this, the soul of Bharat Natyam
needed to be redefined and a new format of Hindustani music compositions
evolved to present it in a proper manner.
She has conceived the recital format of NRITYA-GANGA parallel to the
traditional Bharat Natyam recital. It begins with NAMAN - an invocation
followed by PRASTAR - a pure dance composition in slow tempo. SARGAM
emphasizes various patterns of musical notes while ABHINAYA constitutes
elaborate treatment of interpretative as well as pure dance. ASHTAMANGAL
is a novel pure dance piece paying tribute to the guardians of eight
directions while traditional TARANA offers a joyous bouquet of pure dance
patterns. Apart from this the recital also includes some typical forms of
Hindustani music like CHATRANG, THUMRI, DADRA AND BHAJAN. The themes of
the compositions are chosen in such a way that it gives experience of the
emotion of love through all it's facets of Vatsalya (motherly love), Rati
(sensuous love) and Bhakti (devotion) and creates tranquility of mind. The
musical instruments chosen for accompaniment are Pakhawaj, Sarangi and
Basuri alongwith the vocal music. Nritya-Ganga repertoire today includes
over sixty-five compositions of various types and Sucheta is constantly
adding more to them.
In the new nomenclature of Nritya-Ganga given to this dance form by
Sucheta, the word signifies the flow of tradition that is never stagnant.
Ganga is the holy river revered by all Indians, which symbolizes the
North-South integration achieved through this recital.
Smt. Sucheta in Bombay and Pune performed the inaugural performances of
Nritya-Ganga in April 1985. Since then, she has staged over 100
performances, both in India and abroad.
The knowledgeable feel that Nritya-Ganga has certainly added a new
dimension to Bharat Natyam and has made it more enjoyable for the lay as
well as the discerning audiences, without compromising on it's highly
artistic values.
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