Shobanaa Bhalchandra
A senior Bharathanatyam "Guru"
The Journey Shobanaa has been dancing since the age of 7 and was part of the Dhananjayan's troupe for many years, honing her stage skills.
A senior Bharathanatyam "Guru"
The Journey Shobanaa has been dancing since the age of 7 and was part of the Dhananjayan's troupe for many years, honing her stage skills.
Shobanaa has been dancing since the age of 7 and was part of the Dhananjayan's troupe for many years, honing her stage skills.
As a panelled artist of ICCR, Shobanaa has performed at South America, Iraq and Russia apart from UK, Germany, SriLanka, Denmark, South Africa, USA and Nigeria for various prestigious international forums.
Shobanaa has been invited by Shanmukananada of Mumbai, Soorya Festival of Trivandrum, SICAS of Ahmedabad, Kinkini of Bangalore amongst others.
She is also a 'A' grade artist of Doordarshan and her dance has been featured in many channels in India and abroad.
Shobana was able to hold her own with her maturity, long-limbed easy grace and well-maintained physicality.. radiates a visible sense of ease and quiet confidence without trying too hard. The olde-worlde charm of the jatis, serene and excitingly rhythmic all at once, was rendered with perfect control and intonation by Neela Sukanya…. Shobana’s style is geometric yet flowing with well-defined movements, excellent footwork, a straight back and a good araimandi stance. An impressive combination for sure.
The pretty picture of the smitten nayika sending a letter hidden within the petals of a lotus to King Ramalinga, who reciprocates her love, was conveyed with subtle angika and netra abhinaya. Shobana added her own aesthetic when she showed the nayika eagerly awaiting a glimpse of the majestic king in a procession; the king in turn stops to exchange a special glance of admiration. It was such an intimate moment that it took your breath away.
Full review can be read at - http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/dance/a-confident-presentation-by-the-veteran/article7481175.ece
Shobana Bhalchandra's recital, for Brahma Gana Sabha, was without doubt for the connoisseur of natyam, who looks beyond surface glamour. Her dancing conveyed an intrinsic sense of dignity and innumerable shades of feeling that spanned not just the nine rasas but moved to the finer nuances within them.
Full review can be read at - http://www.thehindu.com/arts/dance/article1152531.ece
"Sampradaya Performing Arts presented Murali Nritya Madhuri, a presentation of Dr.Balamurali Krishna's compositions in Bharatanatyam on August 22 at Granville Arts Centre in Dallas, Texas. The concept was conceived and choreographed by Shobana Bhalchandra, one of the senior most disciples of the Dhananjayans."
Full review can be read at - http://www.narthaki.com/info/rev09/rev786.html
" Shobana Bhalchandra presented an enjoyable recital whose key features were in-depth knowledge of the art and the expertise to present it with a fresh approach. Blessed with agility and stamina, it was quite remarkable to see the dancer perform many mandi adavus and sarukkals perfectly.
The dancer's mature handling of this piece ensured that the presentation stayed tasteful; at the same time, there was no undue whitewashing of the many moments of the Sringara rasa in the lyrics presented an enjoyable recital.
Shobana was outstanding as the bereaved wife who at first refuses to believe her eyes and then pours her heart out. There was a hush in the audience when the dancer finished."
Full review can be read at - http://www.hindu.com/ms/2009/01/07/stories/2009010750160800.htm
"Shobana performed a Varnam based on lord Murugan. Neat nritya, angashuddhi, grace and use of the stage space was striking, showing the great strides this artist has been making with each of her performances.
The high quality of the performance by Shobana Balachandra and her troupe was proof of the dedication and hard work that has gone into the presentation."
Full review can be read at - http://www.narthaki.com/info/reviews/rev406.html
"Meera" was both more conventional and more daring. Only an abiding obsession with the songs of M. S. Subbulakshmi in the 1944 film "Meera" could have made Shobana Bhalchandra use them to depict the legend of the Rajasthani princess.
Bhalchandra declares, I did not do this 'Meera' to be 'different' but because the songs haunted me and the only way I could express my rapture was through the dance. But I had to show the difference in the moods. As you know bhakti offers limited scope for dancing. Avoiding repetitiveness was my main worry."
In "Meera" the dancer and the musician worked together to strive for something higher than themselves.
Full review can be read at - http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/05/06/stories/2003050600010100.htm
