Westwood’s Venkatesh ascends the stage

On Saturday, July, 14, Mayuri Venkatesh, a rising sophomore at Westwood High School, performed her “Bharathanatyam Arangetram” - a South Indian Classical dance debut recital - at Norwood High School. Arangetram literally means “ascending the stage.”

Venkatesh dazzled an audience of nearly 400 guests during a 3-hour solo performance.

Mayuri, daughter of Westwood residents Dr. Maitreyi Sharma and Mr. Vishnu Venkatesh, has been learning Bharathanatyam at the Bharathakalai School of Dance in Lexington, MA, for the past nine years, from well-known Boston teacher Jayshree Bala Rajamani.

Bharathanatyam is one of the oldest classical dance forms in the world, dating back to 3000 BC, with origins in South India. Today, it has wide appeal throughout the world.

The name Bharathanatyam itself describes the basic elements of the dance form. The word is thought to be a combination of four words: “Bha,” taken from “Bhavam” (expression), “Ra,” taken from “Ragam” (melody), “Tha,” taken from “Thalam” (beat) and “Natyam” (dance). The dance can be further broken into three distinct parts: Nritta - pure dance, which incorporates intricate footwork, Nritya - expressive dance, which employs hand gestures and facial expressions, and Natya- story telling. The dance is deeply spiritual and is rooted in Hindu mythology.

Preparing for a Bharathanatyam Arangetram takes many years of intense training and hard work, and requires mastery of all aspects of the dance. Mayuri’s program consisted of nine specially choreographed dances involving complicated footwork, hand gestures, and expressive story-telling. In some dances, she had to portray different characters to relay a story. Mayuri donned the traditional, colorful costumes, jewelry and make-up associated with this style of Indian classical dance.

Mayuri’s dance was supported with outstanding live music. The orchestra, consisting of her teacher, Jayshree Bala Rajamani, Gaurishankar Chandrashekhar on mridangam (percussion), Hema Balasubramaniam on flute, Rasika Murali Mohan on violin and Hari Shanmugam on kanjira (percussion), were superb. One of the most unique and memorable features of this arangetram was that Mayuri’s mother, Maitreyi Sharma, provided melodious vocal support for her daughter’s program, singing in the Carnatic (South Indian) style of music. Mayuri’s father, Vishnu Venkatesh, coordinated the program, and kept the audience informed and entertained as master of ceremonies. At the end of the recital, Mayuri received a standing ovation from the audience for her excellent performance.

Mayuri chose this very special occasion to help raise funds for a charitable organization called Nalamdana. Nalamdana, meaning "Are you well?" in the Tamil language, is an NGO based in Chennai, South India. The organization’s mission is to improve the health of impoverished people in South India, through innovative communication methods. Nalamdana’s programs focus on HIV, TB, and women’s health. In December 2017, Nalamdana initiated a cancer prevention and awareness campaign as well. Mayuri helped raise over $3000 dollars for this organization. She was given a special letter of recognition from Nalamdana’s Board of Trustees commending her efforts.

In Mayuri’s own words, “I think the reason I have always been drawn to Bharathanatyam is because of its ability to merge both the athletic and the artistic worlds together seamlessly… it has given me a new perspective to look at certain situations in life…. performing arts can be a vehicle for getting your message out there and for promoting positive change in the world.”