Girls rock

The second programme was a thematic dance presentation, ‘Chennai is the Cultural Capital’ by Sheela Unnikrishnan and her troupe of pretty young girls. Sheela, a dance teacher in Padma Seshadri School, K.K. Nagar, and the director of Sridevi Nrithyalaya, has trained scores of girls in Bharata Natyam. The programme commenced with a performance by Suvasini, one of Sheela’s most promising students. Anusha, Aswati, Harish and Deepak effortlessly weaved a story around Chennai to make it interesting for the audience, traversing through some of the heritage spots in the city. The dances fitted in well.

In an interlude, Srijith, Sheela’s son, played the mridangam as Gayatri sang. Teenage girls swinging to the beats of modern English pop music brought up the finale.

Pictures show Suvasini kick-starting the dance performance; young girls demonstrating Bharata Natyam; Anusha, Aswati, Harish and Deepak weaving the story; Subhiksha sketching Ganesha in the midst of her dance routine; and the finale.