An all male dance sequence during Naya Zamana 15

FOR the large audience that showed up on Saturday August 8th at the National Culture Centre, there was a dance monsoon in Georgetown and it rained “fabulously” all over that venue.

It was the unforgettable evening of dance promised by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha. Many patrons called the evening’s performance short and sweet.

The Naya Zamana as has been the tradition was again sold out and subsequent to the welcome by Dr Vindhya Persaud, Culture Minister Dr Frank Anthony who declared the show open, unhesitatingly showered praise on the Dharmic Sabha’s dance troupe for their consistently high standards of performance each year.

The choreographers of Naya Zamana 15 created a spectacular palette of creative choreography, colour and costume set against magnificent backdrops of Andrew Arts.

It was evident that the dancers have a fierce understanding of both classical and contemporary technique, creating a brand new vocabulary never quite seen by Guyanese and the scores of foreigners who attended the event.

The Dharmic Nritya Sangh performed and premiered diverse and gorgeous pieces which had the audience applauding enthusiastically throughout the show.

New and different styles of dances were introduced, Chhau in the spectacular opening dance to the Hanuman Chalisa, an old form of stick fighting in dance (Kalaripayatu) done by the large complement of male dancers and Kachipudi solo by the graceful Khavita Singh.

Creativity was evident in the dances and the topical issue of domestic violence was captured by the dancers in the beautiful piece titled “Symphony of Emotion”. It was a beautiful and unique piece that continued to get better and better until the blackout, leaving you wanting just one second more.

Dancers bound by strings to each other rotating and revolving illustrated the tangle of emotions and conscience at war in each one of us. Also, the colourful folk dancers performances were superb. The children performers were loved and young Suchitra Rampersaud had her fans who cheered her enthusiastically as she effortlessly belted out a difficult number.

These ladies in grace and splendour as they articulate an Indian traditional dance

The piece, run the track, was a well crafted group piece pointing out Bollywood’s effect on the world’s impression of what Indian dance is: decades of dance starting from the 50’s spiced up with contemporary movement and cinematic influence. Run the track, was a great way to end the first half, uplifting, fast paced, exciting and colourful – especially with the clips of movies showing on the huge record in the background. Brilliant!

The audience roared with laughter during the bachelor’s plight as the dancers did a comedy routine between two neighbours.

Naya Zamana 15 was creative and fun. The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha’s Dharmic Nritya Sangh gave diverse and spectacular performances easily taking the audience through the evolution of dance.

The occasion was attended by the Sabha’s President Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, Agriculture Minister, Robert Persaud, Housing and Water Minister, Irfaan Ali, Junior Health Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsaran and Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Mr. Subit Kumar Mandal.

It was evident by the consistent applause throughout the short performance that the audience was thrilled to have experienced what is magically created by the dancers and the choreography. (Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha release)