Conflicting reports lead to some confusion regarding her dance style, although the issue was ultimately rendered irrelevant when abhinaya took centre stage, and nritta was relegated to a secondary position. Although her movements around the stage were agile, her keen rhythmic sense was not supported by dexterous footwork, to some extent due to Kumar’s bad knee.

Her refinement in the emotive aspect on the other hand was effortless, with a spontaneity that underlined her experience. Her talent lies in her ability to tell a good story without exaggerating or embellishing, and her delineation of Vamana avataar spoke volumes of her aptitude. The dancer perceptively captured king Mahabali’s conceit and his subsequent turnaround when he realises the true identity of the brahmin dwarf in Annamacharya’s Husseini kriti ‘Brahma kadigina padamu’.

Kumar embarked on a long journey with Brahmanand’s bhajan, ‘Raja Dasarath ke mehalon me janam liya Raghuraye,’ detailing with imagination and restraint episodes from the Ramayana. The rakshasas disturbing Vishwamitra’s penanace, Ravana in Sita Swayamvara, Manthara poisoning Kaikeyi’s mind, were masterful interpretations, marred only by the dancer’s habit of re-enacting the scene when switching roles, that disturbed the trend of thought every time. N.K.Keshavan, the ace mridangist was resourceful in the timely special affects that supplemented the dramatisation.

The ensemble seemed to relish the challenge posed by ‘Nagendra Haraye,’ the Shiva Panchakshara Stuthi composed in ragamalika by the excellent vocalist J.Ramesh, while retaining its Khanda chapu-like cadence, and incorporating nritta passages in the pancha nadais composed by Kesavan. The skilful nattuvanar, M.Jaikishore, the dancer and the rest of the orchestra including the melodious flautist B.Muthukumar, who was recovering from an accident, were at their animated best here.

The other well-rendered numbers were: Dr.M.Balamuralikrishna’s ‘Paripari nee padame’ in Hamsadwani ragam, Adi talam, ‘Sringara Lahiri’ dedicated to Devi in Nilambari ragam, Adi talam, by Lingaraj Urs, a Nazrul Islam geet ‘Anjali lahomore shongeethe’ in Bengali in Tillang ragam, Adi talam, and a Jain prayer ‘Nama arihanthanam.’ An eclectic mix that fitted in with the mood of the evening, providing a relaxed exposition of good music and dance.