Nisarga festival brings top classical dancers back to Kozhikode

Bharatanatyam dancer Rama Vaidyanathan will perform at the Nisaraga dance festival in Kozhikode.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Big-time classical dance returns to the city on Monday (May 5). The two-day Nisarga dance festival, organised by Nrityalaya, promises some quality fare featuring some of India’s leading dancers. And it could not have hoped for a better setting on these summer nights: the Kozhikode Beach.

The second edition of the festival, which is supported by Kerala Tourism, will have performances in Mohiniyattam, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, three classical dances that are pretty popular in Kerala. But, it is not often that the city plays host to the big names in those disciplines.

There used to be the Kozhikode edition of the renowned Soorya Festival, which brought the best of classical dancers, but that had a short life.

So, for the dance lovers, the Nisarga festival offers hope. “Kozhikode needs an opportunity to enjoy classical dance performances by our finest dancers, and that is why we at Nrityalaya decided to organise an event like this,” Bharatanatyam dancer Aswathy V. Nair, who is curating the festival along with her dancer husband N. Srikanth, tells The Hindu. “Our children should be able to see what real classical dance is.”

She is hoping to make this annual affair with the support from the government. “Cities like Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur have regular dance festivals,” she points out. “And we also should have one. The Kozhikode Beach is an ideal venue, too.”

On the opening day, Neena Prasad will present Mohiniyattam and Vaibhar Arekar will perform Bharatanatyam. Rama Vaidyanathan (Bharatanatyam) and Sreelakshmi Govardhan (Kuchipudi) will dance on the second day.