The two day International Dance Festival featuring a variety of classical and folk dances known as Nritya Tarangini, was held at the exquisite Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar auditorium in Mira Road. Organised by Sarraswathy Kala Kendra and Research Centre, the festival was held on 28th and 29th March 2024. It was amazing to watch varied dances being performed by young talented dancers, arriving from various parts of country.

Natya Sharada Guru Subitha Murali, who heads the Saraswati Kala Kendra said “ I am grateful to the department fo Culture, Government of India for their financial support, otherwise with hardly any corporate support to organise a festival of such a magnitude will not be possible".

Bharata Natyam and kathak were the two styles that dominated the scenarios, besides it was refreshing to watch Odissi, Manipuri, Kerala natanam and folk dances like Lavani, Garba, Bhangra and the graceful style from Kerala - Kaikottikali which literally means clap and dance, this dance is also known as thiruvathirakali and is performed by women during festive occasions,

The dancers who participated in the festival were Deepa Saju for Bharata Natyam from New Delhi, Honey Unnikrishnan for Mohiniattam from Nagpur, Shrobana Mitra Das for Manipuri from Kolkata, Thiksha Arya for Kathak from Udaipur, Madhuri Pratap for Bharata Natyam from Mumbai, dynamic couple dancers Yogesh Kumar and Sneha Narayan for Bharata Natyam from Bangalore, Ajay Shendge for Odissi and Kathak from Aurangabad, Mrunal Deshpande for Bharata Natyam from Mumbai, Nandini Choudhary Mohanty for Odissi from Kolkata, Sunil Gujra, Lavani dancer and Boogie Woogie star performer, Manas Sathe for Kathak  and Gondal from Pune, Garima Sharma for  Garba and Bhangra,Anushka Ramanathan for Bharata Natyam from Mumbai, Subhalakshmi Subramaniam for Kerala Natanam from Trivandrum, Suvarnam bag for Bharata Natyam group from Pune, Jaimin Kanan and disciples from Surat for Bharata Natyam, Divya Dave for Bharata Natyam, Devika Borthakur for Sattriya dance fom Pune, Archana Mane for kathak Yogesh Tamble for Lavani and Advi Gore.

The distinguished guests for the festival were Geeta Bharat Jain, MLA, Dr Uma Rele, principal of Nalanda Nritya Kalamahavidyalaya, Dr Gayatri Subramanaim, SNA awardee from Trivandrum, Nalini Shetty, principal of RBK School, Mira Road, Guru Rajendran Naidu, Dilip Shinde IAS, Kuchipudi exponent Guru Vijay Shanker, Rajeev Walia, film director, Bibishan Maruti Chavare, director of directorate of cultural affairs and Tabla meastro Bhanuprakash Barot. On the whole it was grand festival.

The dance festival was supported by Sangeet Natak Akademi, Dept of Culture, Government of India.

By Guru Vijay Shanker