Through original music composed by famed Indian composer Mr B.V Balasai and choreography by Cultural Medallion artist Mrs Santha Bhaskar, NUS Indian Instrumental Ensemble and NUS Indian Dance present the story of Lord Shiva and the Goddess Parvati.
MUSIC
About the Artist
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Santha Bhaskar
Choreographer
Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer of NUS Indian Dance
Santha Bhaskar is the Artistic Director and resident choreographer of NUS Indian Dance. She is a Singapore Cultural Medallion winner and is well known in the region as an accomplished dancer and is much sought after as a choreographer. Besides being awarded the Cultural Medallion, she was also awarded the Natya Rani Award from the Singapore Indian Film and Dramatic Society and the Kala Ratna Award from the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Association.
She has also won various accolades for her choreography and is well known for her unique interpretation of traditional and modern dance idioms. Her recent work, Vriksha, was a retelling of Kuo Pao Kun’s play The Silly Little Girl And The Funny Old Tree (1987) through the language of bharatanatyam was a sold out show.
Presently, she spends her time between teaching at the Nrityalaya Aesthetics Society and at the NUS Centre for the Arts (CFA), besides overseeing Bhaskar’s Arts Academy. She has also written many articles on dance for seminars and performing arts magazines.
B.V. Balasai
Music Director
B. V. Balasai, the son of flautist, B. Sudarsana Rao was born in a family of rich musical tradition, He initiated into the study of music at the age of 8 under guidance of his father, and later on took his gurukulam under the guidance of C. G. Venkatesh & Dr. Prapancham Sitaram.
Early in life, Balasai had the privilege of playing with great Mridangam stalwarts like Shri. Palghat Raghu, Guru Karaikudi Mani, Shri. Vellore Ramabhadran, Shri. Guruvayur Dorai, Trichy Sankaran and Kamalakar Rao. A soloist, he has performed for many prestigious sabhas and organisations all over the country.
Balasai has been performing duet concerts with the Gottuvadyam, a rare and unique instrument, without the aid of the usual accompaniment, the violin. This novel approach was inspired by the Mridangam maestro, Karaikudi Mani. His multifaceted talents include playing Hindustani Classical, the Western Classical Key flute, and association with the film industry for the past fifteen years.
As a composer, he has scored music and has done music direction for many dance ballets and devotional albums which include Alchemyth, La Bayadere, The Quest for Baskara, Swamiji – 60, Saraswathi Anthadi, Harivillu & Samarpayami.