First Inter-University Classical Dance Competition, Hosted by Southampton Kandyan & Bharatanatyam Society.
One of the smallest societies of University of Southampton’s Performing Arts Dance recently hosted the first ever inter-university classical dance competition in the UK at Turner Sims Concert Hall. With a committee of seven, the society had plans to turn their flagship event THAALA – previously only a showcase of Kandyan & Bharatanatyam dance, in to a competition where any university within the UK were able to participate.
Kandyan dancing is a traditional dance form originating from Sri Lanka whereas Bharatanayam and Kathaka are classical dance forms of South Asia. These dance types are much different to any other dances as legend says dancers form a bond with Gods and rituals during performances so each dance style is unique and sacred to one another.
The competition consisted of three categories: solo, duets and groups and each university were able to choose the classical dance style they wanted to represent which included: Kandyan, Bharatanatyam and Kathak.
The application process consisted of each university submitting a form online to Southampton Kandyan & Bharatanatyam Dance (also known as SKBD and KBN) two months before the competition date. Applications from all over the country were made to take part in THAALA and six final universities participated in the final competition.
There were ten categories in which each university were able to gain points and three judges from the respective style of dance were in the panel on the day. Sithara Koushik (Kathak and Bharatanatyam judge) from Southampton, Kumudu Perera (Kandyan judge) from London and Shanthini Choudhry (Bharatanatyam judge) from India consisted the judging panel of THAALA 2016.
Final list of universities and its participants in THAALA 2016
- University of Warwick – Groups Category – Fusion of Bharatanatyam and Kathak from Warwick classical dance society by Abby Suresh, Shalili Desai, Devika Nair, Aakriti Goenka,
Preveena Kula and Keyuri Gorasia - University of Leicester – Groups Category – Bharatanatyam from Leicester Tamil society by Vithoosheka Rajagopalan, Surupa Mukhopadyay, Sinthu Uthayashankar, Thulasi Jeyadeva, Priyanka Kumar, Arcchana Gajendran and Eurekha Rv.
- University of Manchester –Duet Category – Bhratanatyam from Manchester Indian dance society by Sneha Ajit and Stefy Srambical.
- University of Newcastle – Solo Category – Bharatanatyam by Iswarya Jayakumar
– Duet Category – Fusion of Bharatanatyam and Kathak by Archanna Arunathevan and Chandini Sree Venkataramani. - University of Southampton – Solo Category – Kandyan by Aashni Shah. – Solo Category – Bharatanatyam by Bhageshree Vyas.
– Groups Category – Bharatanatyam by Saritha Choudhry, Aneeta Kumar, Ameeta Kumar, Shruti Keloth, Saranaya Harikrishnan Ann Sharon and Maiurei Selvam from SKBD competition squad. - University of SOAS, London – solo Category – Bharatanatyam by Asa Willoughby.
There were multiple guest acts that performed in THAALA during the competition to keep the audience entertained. They included YouTube sensation, singer and guitarist Ankush Jain – former University of Southampton graduate coming all the way from London to perform his mashup of Hindi/English songs alongside contemporary Kandyan dancer Dilini Seneviratne, Southampton’s favourite duo; Shaan Patel, Violinist and Vibs Bhatiya, Guitarist and singer performing a Hindi/English medley, Kandyan dancing duo; Tharushi Wanigaratna and Akila Fernando from London, Bharatanatyam Solo, Shameera Chandrarajah and London Kingsbury Buddhist temple drummers performing live drumming at the opening ceremony.
One of the highlights of the show was towards the end where Southampton University’s finest performing arts students collaborated to perform a fusion of dances; Hip Hop by Niruna Suntharalingham, Ballet by Lizzie Cooper-Smith, Bollywood by Utsav Oza, Kandyan/Bharatanatyam by Dilini Seneviratne and Belly dancing by Ria Singh.
Finally, SKBD would like to thank our proud media sponsors of the event UNITY 101 – South Asian and ethnic radio station based in Southampton and its station manager Ram Kelly for providing all performers and guest acts with goodie bags. Photography and videography captured by Eternal Memories – student found photography company based in London.
The winners of each category were presented with a trophy each and the overall winner of the entire competition received a winner trophy along with £300! The judges’ decisions were final and so the winners of THAALA 2016 is as follows:
Winner of Groups Category: University of Leicester
Winner of Duet Category: University of Manchester
Winner of Solo Category: University of Newcastle
Overall Winner of THAALA 2016: University of Newcastle Solo Bharatanatyam, Iswarya Jayakumar
Organising committee of THAALA 2016: Jithin James Mullappillil (President), Nethmee Abeywickrama (Vice President), Asha Purushuttam (Secretary), Ravi Jayanti (Treasurer), Shahani Perera (Social Secretary)
Dance Captains: Dilin Seneviratne (Kandyan) and Saritha Choudhry (Bharatanatyam)
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