Kuchipudi dancer Sanjana Jain makes her solo debut

Kuchipudi dancer Sanjana Jain will debut as a professional dancer with her performance Kuchipudi Rangapravesam. The 16-year-old who has previously only performed in a group will dance solo for more than an hour in Delhi.

Staging a solo act for the first time, 16-year-old Kuchipudi dancer Sanjana Jain is all set to perform Kuchipudi Rangapravesam. The term ‘rangapravesam’ when split into two means stage (ranga) and entry (pravesam) and marks Jain’s debut as a solo professional dancer.

Trained by celebrated Kuchipudi exponents Dr Raja Radha and Kaushalya Reddy, Sanjana started performing Kuchipudi at the age of nine.

Talking about her performance, the artist says, “This is going to be my first solo performance. Before this, I have always performed in a group. At this performance, I will dance for one and a half hour.”

Her performance will begin with Suryakant Tripathi Nirala’s, Saraswati Vandana, followed by Mandari Jatiswaram — a pure dance piece and Krishna Shabdam – a short item where the heroine beckons Krishna and surrenders herself to him, among others. The performance will conclude with Tarangam, a very famous feature of Kuchipudi in which the performer dances on the edge of a brass plate.

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Trained by celebrated Kuchipudi exponents Dr Raja Radha and Kaushalya Reddy, Jain started performing Kuchipudi at the age of nine and has since been dancing. “I have always been a lover of arts. I was introduced to Kuchipudi by my masi (maternal aunt) and I fell in love with the dance form after the very first class. To do justice to the art, lucid imagination and long hours of practice are required to alter between different spaces to bring forth messages through facial expressions and pure dance movement,” adds Jain.

Catch It Live

WHAT: Kuchipudi Recital

WHERE: Kamani Auditorium, 1, Copernicus Marg

WHEN: May 2

TIMING: 7pm

NEAREST METRO STATION: Mandi House on Blue Line and Violet Line