A melange of Oggu Dollu, Perini, Bharatanatyam, K-pop & Ballet

It was a cultural extravaganza as the stage at

Ravindra Bharathi

came alive with eclectic performances, which managed to encapsulate Indian, Western as well as Eastern dance forms with panache. The theme for the evening was ‘Local to Global’ and in keeping with it, the proceedings commenced with the traditional Oggu Dollu— Telangana’s very own folk art form which includes singing ballads in praise of Lord Shiva. The vibrant costumes and the acrobatic stunts left the audience cheering for more. The set was choreographed by National Award-winning dancer, Oggu Ravi Kumar.
This was followed by the 900-year old Telangana dance form, Perini, a warrior dance which originated in the Kakatiya Dynasty. It was a power-packed performance, supported by gravity defying moves and vigorous nritya.

Things took a classical turn with a

Bharatanatyam

performance choreographed by Neha Singh. With synchronised footwork and perfect mudras, the dancers enthralled the audience.

But the evening got even better when several children took to the stage to groove to the peppy beats of BTS, the Korean pop band. This set was led by choreographer Ramakrishna, and left the gathering completely stupefied.

The final act for the night was a spectacular act by New York-based ballerina exponent, Taylor Gordon. The original western classical style of Broadway came alive as Gordon pirouetted in the air with awe-inspiring grace. She was then joined on stage by her ballet students from Hyderabad, who delivered a stunning act with equal poise and elegance, doing full splits with absolute ease, which received a thundering applause from the audience.

The event was the brainchild of the Telangana Department of Language and Culture. Mamidi Hariskrishna, director of Culture, said, “We wanted to pay tribute to our city of Hyderabad which is a converging point of a plethora of cultures and ethnicities.The idea was to integrate this culture through various forms of dance from around the world.”