Chandra Mandala, 1, Elliots Beach Road, Besant Nagar, Chennai, 600 090.
Chandra Mandala is this beautiful set of performance stages in the former house of the late Chandralekha. I had never heard of this lady. Since that time, I google'd her and found a lot of interesting information. Here is a nice link about her.
Chandra Mandala is an eclectic location. It is across the from the beach at the quieter edge. The place has a nice forest atmosphere. The buildings are in Kerala style with sloping tiled construction. There are three stages. One is a atrium with an open space all around. The second is a fort-like enclosure with huge stage. The third is a sunken hall. All three have been built with openness to allow the cool (Ok, it is December in Chennai) beach air to flow through.
I had never heard of Vilasini Natyam dance form either. So, this was a great introduction. Vilasini is a temple, court and theatrical dance traditions of the Telugu Devadasis. In olden days, this performing tradition was referred to as Bharatam, Karnatakam or Tsaduru. The emphasis is on abhinaya (facial expression), the hand gestures simply allow the flow of the story through. Unlike Bharathanatyam, there is not a lot of movement around the stage. This form has recently been resurrected by a dancer called Swapnasundari. She is also credited with renaming it Vilasini Natyam. It is still a very niche form and there is no Wiki page on it. The dancer wears wooden hand crafted jewellery called ‘Ganiyam’. A main feature is a seated performance, where the dancer sits on a pedestal or thinnai. The hand guestures and facial expressions are all that are needed to tell the story. There are minimal instrument accompaniments.
Chandra Mandala is a dance school and conducts regular shows. It is worth visiting, just to take in the art energy. It has a lot of resembles to Cholamandal Artist Village in the layout. it will great to hear from others that know more about this dance form. Leave your comments.
Chandra Mandala is this beautiful set of performance stages in the former house of the late Chandralekha. I had never heard of this lady. Since that time, I google'd her and found a lot of interesting information. Here is a nice link about her.
Chandra Mandala is an eclectic location. It is across the from the beach at the quieter edge. The place has a nice forest atmosphere. The buildings are in Kerala style with sloping tiled construction. There are three stages. One is a atrium with an open space all around. The second is a fort-like enclosure with huge stage. The third is a sunken hall. All three have been built with openness to allow the cool (Ok, it is December in Chennai) beach air to flow through.
I had never heard of Vilasini Natyam dance form either. So, this was a great introduction. Vilasini is a temple, court and theatrical dance traditions of the Telugu Devadasis. In olden days, this performing tradition was referred to as Bharatam, Karnatakam or Tsaduru. The emphasis is on abhinaya (facial expression), the hand gestures simply allow the flow of the story through. Unlike Bharathanatyam, there is not a lot of movement around the stage. This form has recently been resurrected by a dancer called Swapnasundari. She is also credited with renaming it Vilasini Natyam. It is still a very niche form and there is no Wiki page on it. The dancer wears wooden hand crafted jewellery called ‘Ganiyam’. A main feature is a seated performance, where the dancer sits on a pedestal or thinnai. The hand guestures and facial expressions are all that are needed to tell the story. There are minimal instrument accompaniments.
Chandra Mandala is a dance school and conducts regular shows. It is worth visiting, just to take in the art energy. It has a lot of resembles to Cholamandal Artist Village in the layout. it will great to hear from others that know more about this dance form. Leave your comments.
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