PALLAVI KRISHNAN give her a big hand for the brilliant Mohiniyattam presentation at the India Habitat Centre last week which revealed her aesthetic sense of choreography through which she had, to a great extent, reoriented the style, generally a big slow moving and repetitive in its animation.

What one witnessed was an energetic, enthusiastic and eye filling show. The theme taken up was Rituranga depicting the six seasons based on compositions of Rabindranath Tagore and Kalidasa. Participating in the show were seven other dancers, all well trained in the idiom and dancing with relish and joy. Needless to say the very attractive Mohiniyattam costumes added flavour.

In a production like this it’s generally the tendency for choreographers to drag on sequences by resorting to rhythmic interludes thereby impeding the unfolding of the theme quickly and unobtrusively. In Pallavi’s direction the changeovers from season to season was smooth, never wasting even a split second. Team work was the highlight of the production and the result was an hour of infectious joy.

The scenes were short and by resorting to subtle abhinaya she was able to convey the import of the lyrics in a clinching manner. For example, in Kalidasa’s sloka which says that “during ‘Sarat’ the gentle breeze embraces the flowers. Earth is clean with dried swampy lands. Streams are full of clean water. The sky is twinkling with moon and stars. The sweet fragrance of the ornaments made of flowers worn by the young women spreading all over. They are anxiously waiting in their houses to unite with their beloveds,” the message was succinctly brought out by the dancers individually and, occasionally, jointly.

Again the Tagore song, pous toder dak diyeche, one witnesses the dancer’s happiness and exuberant at the bounty of her harness. Never was there any misplacement of the movements nor a false step. I can dare say that Pallavi has revolutionised Mohiniyattam and injected vitality to it.

The first perquisite for a Mohiniyattam dancer is to look like a Mohini (enchantress). She did look every inch of her.