In the Kandappa – Bala technique, all the technical sections from the basic steps to the items of repertoire were always taught by my revered dance-master K. Ganesan, the only son of the illustrious Kandappa, teacher of Bala. Bala was present most of the time during rigorous sessions of Nritta and kept a watchful eye on the student. Once the student has perfect Nritta co-ordination, mastering all the technical repertoire,Bala would first begin with Sabdam, and proceed in a leisurely manner to the other items – the lyrical part of the Varnam, the Padams & Javali. The tempo of the…

Dr.V.Raghavan’s reach and research on the varied dance forms and traditions which got enlarged over decades of his brilliant academic contributions, were driven by two major influences: the first being the great aesthetic appeal of grand performances of the dance par-excellence of South India-Bhartanatyam as seen by him right from his young age both in his native village and around but also those at prominent cultural venues of the then Madras Presidency; the second being his close association with renowned practitioners, scholars, and other cultural personalities in the fields of Music and Dance. These influences accelerated his deep interest to…