GS RAJAN is a music composer, classical flautist and arts administrator. He has been a dance critic of The Statesman and music critic of The Hindu national dailies. For more information visit: www.malabarian.com

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This year I made it point to attend as many performances of music and dance as possible during my month-long stay in Chennai. I will restrict my (strictly personal) views and comments to only those few dance performances I could attend in a season where more than 800 dance recitals were held. (The music review will follow soon)

One of the first performances I attended on reaching Mad-Ras was not of Bharata Natyam but an outstanding Odissi recital by Ayona Bhaduri at Karthik Fine Arts. She took the audience to great heights with her abhinaya completely soaked in shringara-bhakthi. This presentation can be termed as a perfect blend of teamwork with superb musicians highlighting every aspect of the dance.

I was lucky that the last concert I attended was of high quality and I totally enjoyed every bit of it. Neena Prasad proved that she is the best interpreter of Mohiniattam, and the music and singing by Madhavan Namboodiri was outstanding. It is still ringing in my ears.

One important aspect I have noticed is the lack of rehearsals. During the season musicians are in high demand and dancers sometimes get just one practice with the orchestra. This actually spoils the show, however good the dancer may be. Dancers should also try to cut down on number of concerts and instead do a couple of performances with quality.