A group of 14 dancers came together to tell the tale of The Living Tree

Vitality, Presence, Passion and a message.

The Living Tree , dance drama staged by the Cleveland Cultural Alliance (CCA) at the Music Academy had all the above features.

"This is a little story with a big heart," said Uma Ganesan, founder of the CCA, a non-profit organisation to promote among American audiences, a deeper awareness and appreciation of India's classical music and dance

On November 22, this simple tale that carried a profound statement about caring for the environment was staged in aid of The Spastics Society of Tamil Nadu. The cast of dancers, all of them disciples of the Dhananjayans or the Kalakshetra, splendidly narrated the story of a little girl who loved and cared for her tree.

Based on the story of Shel Silver stein The Giving Tree, this show was choreographed by G. Narendra, an experienced dancer himself, and the lilting background score was composed by VS Narasimhan of the Madras String Quartet.

It was a village alright, with the village belles dressed in sarees in becoming earthen shades, wearing tufts of jasmine and kunjalam on their hair and the men-folk clad in simple panchagacham, and some wearing an occasional angavastram. And the activity on stage faithfully painted the canvas of a village scene - water being drawn from wells, the tasks of sowing, reaping, harvesting and farming going on in full swing, lessons being conducted under the shade of a tree with children merrily leapfrogging during playtime.

The expressive team of dancers, each one in sync with the other, whether it was in forming parallel lines or portraying more complex criss-cross alignments as part of animation. "The do breathe as one now," said Uma Ganesan, while introducing the play. And they did.

The play revolves around a little girl who sees the soul in a tree that no one else does. She is the only one who understands the connection between man and his environment. And that if nature is neglected, man will suffer the dreadful repercussions.

Bright-eyed Mahalakshmi effortlessly transformed from a frisky little girl in a green pavadai chokka, to a pretty bride forced to leave behind her precious tree. TB Unnikrishnan played the soul of the tree, coming alive as the girl's playmate, twirling her around, revelling in her to sleep after a long day of play. Krishnakshi Sharma dazzled as the sister-in-law of the girl, portraying a tough and indifferent woman and CA Joy delivered a powerful performance as the medicine man, with an animated dance complete with oars of 'ooh aah'

The joie de vivre of the marriage scene was portrayed with panache, with all the dancers drawing from a host of different dance forms from Bhangra to Kathakali set against a traditional backdrop of Bharatanatyam

The dancers donned a host of roles as the villagers to recount the tale of The Living Tree with style and elan. Pity there was only one show.

Dhanya Parthasarathy,
The New Indian Express.