As curator for our first Midday Mantra: Dance Series, Magdalen Gorringe presents two outstanding dancers from the Midlands – Katie Ryan and Lakshmi Srinivasan.
Their passion and commitment shines through in their performances, which celebrate classical Indian dance forms less frequently encountered in the UK. Don’t miss this feast for the eyes and soul as part of our latest Midday Mantra: Dance series, which will be broadcast live on Sampad’s Facebook page.
Katie Ryan performs odissi, a beautifully compelling prayer to Saraswathi, goddess of arts and learning. Lakshmi Srinivasan performs bharatanrtyam, a form of bharatnatyam that incorporates the karanas, giving her own dynamic and playful interpretation of the story of Krishna’s battle with the serpent, Kaliya.
Katie Ryan
Katie Ryan is a freelance dance artist who specialises in the classical Indian dance style of Odissi. A graduate of London Contemporary Dance School, Katie is uniquely placed as a UK-trained dancer pursuing Odissi at a professional level. Aiming to engage contemporary audiences through the medium of classical Indian dance, Katie is a member of Odissi Ensemble. She has performed in productions supported by Kadam, including Shades of Love (2012), Gods and Mortals (2016-17) and Sacred Shapes / Sacred Fires (2018-19).
See Katie perform below.
Lakshmi Srinivasan
Lakshmi has choreographed a fresh and exhilarating dance performance, exploring the theme of Kalinga Nartanam (Krishna’s dance in which he subdues the serpent Kalinga), by incorporating the Karanas and Charis of Natyashastra. Kalinga Nartana is a popular mythological story in which young Krishna dances on the serpent Kalinga in order to stop him poisoning the Yamuna river. Later, Krishna, and his friends visit the river. Krishna jumps in and swims deep – but there he encounters Kaliya. In a blistering rage, Kaliya spreads out his hoods and coils around Krishna, triggering a mail-biting underwater action sequence. Krishna bravely fights with Kaliya, dancing joyously on the hoods of Kalinga. The subdued Kalinga eventually surrenders to Krishna and all people rejoice.
Lakshmi first received Bharatanatyam training from her Guru, Dr. Shubharani Bolar in India, and later completed her training in Karana on BharataNrityam with Dr. Shobha Shashikumar. She gained a Master’s Degree in Dance in 2012 from Sri Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain University and is the Artistic Director of Ankura School of Dance, teaching Bharatanatyam to students across the West Midlands. She is currently undergoing Natuvangam training with Dr. Prasanna Kumar.
Her experience as a tutor and workshop leader has included work with Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (London), DanceXchange, Sampad, Chitralekha Dance Company (Birmingham); Annapurna Indian Dance Company (Halifax); Coventry University, Warwick University, Herbert Art Gallery & Museum (Coventry) and Southam College. She has performed her own choreographed work at Birmingham Balaji temple, Margam, International Dance Festival Birmingham, Kalasamarpan event at Kalasangam, Diwali Utsav Wolverhampton, Kalakunj Reading, Coventry University (Romani Arts Festival) and Coventry Big Lottery Fund Event. In terms of collaborations, her work with other artists includes Magdalen Gorringe’s If I Could Reach Home (2015-16).
See Lakshmi perform below.
This event will be broadcast live on Sampad’s Facebook page on Saturday 5 December, from 12pm.
Image (left to right): Lakshimi Srinivasan, Katie Ryan and Magdalen Gorringe (photos by Simon Richardson).