Nrityageet…

Celebrating the arrival of East Indians for over three decades
THIS year, as Guyana celebrates the 174th anniversary of the Arrival of East Indians in British Guiana, the dance theatre production, Nrityageet, is expected, as usual, to feature prominently in those festivities.
Nrityageet has long established itself as a fixture of Arrival Day celebrations. Now 33 years old, the production of the Nadira and Indranie Shah Dance Troupe boasts a repertoire that includes Kathak, Bharatanatya, Odissi, Folk, Modern, Chutney, Soca, Jazz, Ballet, Ballroom and Ethnic dance styles.
Co-founder, Leading Dancer and Choreographer on the production, Nadira Shah, reflected on the birth of Nrityageet – itself meaning pure song and dance — in Nrityageet’s 30th production souvenir magazine.
On vacation in Trinidad with her mother, Bhanmatee, she was asked to perform for the East Indian Day celebrations of the University of the West Indies. Opening the show with a performance of the Vishnu Vandana, a kathak performance, she was such a big hit that the press mistook her for an Indian national.
Nadira said it was during this trip that she discussed with her mother the possibility of doing an annual production to commemorate Indian Immigration Day. On their return, Bhanmatee worked with Nadira and her sister Indranie to plan their first stage production, in which they included a major dance feature called Dasavatar – the ten incarnations of the Lord Vishnu.
They were, however, yet to overcome a major hurdle — support to two teenage girls. They got their share of boycotts from established organizations, whose executives thought it was a “pie in the sky” dream when the girls explained that Nrityageet would be an annual production. Nevertheless, undeterred, the girls persevered, and the first Nrityageet was a success.

Profiles
Bhanmattee Shah: Co-founder, Producer, Costume Designer and Sewing Mistress, Bhanmattee played a direct role in the creation of the dance production, Nrityageet. She helped with the first Diwali fairs, working along with her husband Cyril Shah, who started the first Miss India pageant and the League of Coloured Peoples’ fairs, promoting shows that included the Mighty Sparrow, King Fighter, Mighty Canary; and countless international performers, such as Johnny Mathis, Louis Armstrong, the American Dance Theatre, Olatunji African Dance Company and others.
Having traced her ancestral roots to the village of Jamkhuri, in Allahabad, Bhanmattee attended countless dance festivals in Jaipur, Delhi, Bombay, and Rajasthan; and toured Kashmir and the famous Taj Mahal, among many other pursuits in her quest to understand and enjoy her ancestral heritage.
As other family members became involved in Nrityageet productions, Bhanmattee concentrated on designing and making costumes. In addition to travelling to India every other year, she has visited China, Thailand, and Trinidad at Carnival time, gathering music, materials and costume ideas to create her spectacular costumes for upcoming productions.
Bhanmatee has sewn all the costumes involved in the productions of Nrityageet, from Nrityageet One to present.
She has received the Best Costume award for a number of years from the Guyana Theatre Arts Awards and the Madame Iffel Award of Barbados.
She says that Nrityageet has become the very centre of her existence. “I look forward every year, when my girls come home, for Nrityageet productions.”

Nadira Shah-Berry: Co-founder, Producer, Choreographer, Lead Teacher and Dancer, Nadira started dancing at a very young age. She made her first public appearance under the guidance of her eldest sister, Seeta, in school concerts.
Nadira said that during the days of her primary education at Rama Krishna School, her classroom was the mandir. Attending school in the mandir left a big impact on Nadira, and contributed to her devotion to dance.
She followed her sister, Indranie to the Indian Cultural Centre to Odissi dance class with then instructor, Indian national, Priya Pawar. In 1976, she performed in Pawar’s final production, “Universal Dancing feet”, staged at Queen’s College.
After the Pawars had departed Guyana, Nadira started Kathak dance classes under the guidance of the late Pandit Durgalall. She got her big break partnering with her dance teacher in Suriname. Durgalall continued to train her well, preparing a Kathak duet for her and her sister Indranie to perform at Guyfesta, as he played live music for them. For two years, Nadira performed in all of Durgalall’s private shows throughout Guyana, and in the Indian Cultural Centre’s productions. She also taught classes for a few months after her teacher had surgery. After Durgalall’s term had ended, there was a period which lasted for months before the next teacher came, so Nadira decided to start her own group, teaming up with her sister, Indranie. Thus the Nadira and Indranie Shah Dance Troupe was formed.
She said it was hard to get people to accept classical dance on the fairground stages, but the group campaigned to let audiences understand that dance was an art form. This was against the common perception that only girls danced on stage, and Indian dancing was limited to the then popular belly and pop dancing.

In brief, Nadira attended the Indian Cultural Centre in Guyana from 1977 to 1983, as a student of Kathak dance; becoming a senior student, assistant dance teacher, and performer of the ICC, where she was offered a scholarship to study dance in India. She was a member of the Dance Teacher Training programme in 1995. In Barbados, from 1995 to 1997, she was a dancer and choreographer of the Barbados Dance Theatre.
Nadira has attended numerous dance and theatre workshops worldwide: in India, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Suriname, Trinidad, Barbados, Guyana, USA and Croatia.
Her awards include the Madame Ifill Award, two gold medals, four silver medals and one bronze medal.

Indranie Shah-Lennartson: Co-founder, Producer, Choreographer and Dancer, Indranie started dancing at age 11 as a student of Shri Pratap Pawar at the Indian Cultural Centre. She gave her first performance at the Deepavali Jalsa in 1975. The arrival of renowned Kathak dancer Pandit Durgalall in 1976 marked the beginning of a new sense of awareness for Indian heritage and culture in the field of the performing arts.
Certificates of Excellence at Guyfesta 1977 and 1980, coupled with numerous representations for the Indian Cultural Centre and the Guyana Department of Culture heralded the advent of Nrityageet. In 1984, Indranie was awarded an Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarship to further her studies in Dance in New Delhi, India. She
attended the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra from April 1985 to December 1987.
Her Sweden chapter began in 1988 when she married Anders Lennartson, and she has since continued to promote her cultural heritage by performing, teaching, holding workshops and cultural exhibitions.
She has performed in New Delhi, New York and Sweden, and has represented Guyana at Carifesta in Barbados, and at the World Trade Fair Expos in Germany and Portugal.
She read for a Masters Degree in Linguistics at the University of Umea in Sweden. Her thesis is based on the retention of Indian languages in the current Guyanese English Language.

Dr. Seeta Terry Shah-Roth’s exposure to the San Juan Ballet Troupe and American Ballet Theatre, brought to Guyana by her father, caused her to dream of becoming a ballet dancer from as early as four years old. She was attending the Helen Taitt Ballet School by the time she was six, where she explored classical ballet and interacted with the Russian Ballet Troupe.
She went on to attend classes in Indian folk dance, and learned ballroom dancing during her high school years. She directed, choreographed and taught her first Indian dance production at the age of 14 at her high school’s first Christmas concert.
She later studied the history of different dance styles, dance choreography, dance theatre, costume design and theatre arts.
A strong high school debater, dramatist and creative writer, Seeta never pursued a career in dancing, but turned instead to writing and presenting dramatized poetry and short stories; and scripting, directing and producing television documentaries, radio dramas, and dance dramas.
Her first dance drama was for Nrityageet, and was titled: “From Whence we Came”.
From Nrityageet Four onwards, Seeta has directed the light and sound systems; and thereafter, directed subsequent Nrityageet productions, designing and building stage sets, and writing and narrating the poetic links connecting dance sequences.

The Future of Nrityageet
The future of Nrityageet rests on the shoulders of Suzanne and Rewattie Shah, as they use what they have learnt in Nrityageet productions and their individual creativity to take Nrityageet to the fourth and fifth decades.

Suzanne Shah-Nilsson: Suzanne has been trained in many dance styles. These include Modern, Contemporary, Indian Classical, Indian Folk, Classical and Modern Ballet, Jazz and Free Modern.
Suzanne has travelled with dance troupes representing Guyana on many occasions: The Sweden Tour 1994, Portugal World Expo 2000, Carifesta in Trinidad, the Trinidad Tour 1997, as well as Barbados on numerous occasions.
For over four years, Suzanne has been teaching Nadira’s traditional choreographies to students of the Guyana National School of Dance, and adding to the national repertoire.

Rewattie Kavita-Datt is Producer, Choreographer and Senior Dancer of Nrityageet.
The love of dance has been Rewattie’s inspiration. She started dancing for a public audience in 1995 at the age of nine, when she represented Cummings Lodge Primary at the Mashramani School Dance competition. She has been a member of the Nadira Dance Troupe from Nrityageet 16.
In 2000, after five years of being with the troupe, Rewattie herself became a choreographer.  In 2002, she was one of the lead dancers of the troupe to perform at the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin’s conference in New York, where she was a member of the Guyana contingent representing Guyana in 2003 at Carifesta IX in Suriname, and again in Guyana for Carifesta X in 2008.
Rewattie continues dance classes year round, maintaining the momentum and dedication of senior dancers, encouraging new dancers, and experimenting with new choreography. By the second year, the production had reached the stage of the National Cultural Centre.
This year’s production is slated for tonight at the National Cultural Centre.

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