But who is this dancer? She is Nalini Prakash, nee Advani, one of the senior most disciples of Smt. Sudharani Raghupathi and is not a new face for dance enthusiasts in Chennai. A graceful dancer blessed with a mobile face and an attractive figure, Nalini has a striking stage presence. Settled in Wellington, in the Nilgiris Mountains, she runs a dance school, ‘Silambam’, an offshoot of her guru’s Sree Bharatalaya. The Music Academy, Chennai, presented her in a Bharatanatyam recital with an endowment created by the family of K.Chandrasekharan Iyer, former vice-president of the Sabha.

There was a good team of accompanists that evening with Nandini Anand as vocalist, Vijayaraghavan on the violin and Anirudha on the mridangam. Priya Murle conducted the programme with finesse, as much at home at the helm, as onstage when dancing.

Nalini commenced with an Alarippu in Chathusram followed by Shivadyanam. ‘Payan kili vannan’ a piece from the Nachiar Thirumuzhi in Tillang ragam, was next where Andal pleads with her pet koel to go bring her beloved Vishnu. A javali in Kalyani ragam, ‘Thatai mozhiyal oru penn’ was followed by Janardhanashtakam in ragamalika, describing the beauty of Kandhakuri Janardhana as the shawl draped on him slips down… and His many acts of compassion towards His devotees. The bhakthi and sringara elements were clearly discernible but Nalini would do well to include heavier padams to bring to light her capacity for mature abhinaya. One should be taken more seriously as one evolves as an artist. The programme concluded with a tillana in Hamsanagam ragam, Adi talam, composed by Sri Madurai N. Krishnan. The dancer’s grace did not desert her even during exhausting nritta sequences. Herein lies her strength.