The beautiful warm weather, combined with the slowly easing Covid-19 lockdown, brought about a sudden buzz of cultural activities in Geneva.
Although this was all planned well in advance, nobody knew for sure if it would take place. Fortune smiled and – viola! We got to perform.
On the 9th of May 2021, students of Omkara and their teacher Mrs. Sujatha Venkatesh performed for the Fete de la Danse – an annual Arts festival organized by the city of Geneva.
Being on stage and performing for one whole hour was exhilarating, and a much-awaited opportunity. Everyone trained hard and performed very well.
The highlight of the evening was a workshop conducted for a small group of dance novices outside of the main hall. It was interesting to watch the shy children take their first steps trying out mudras, followed by the adults interacting with the children, creating more complex storylines using the same mudras.
Participants were fascinated by the hand gestures depicting nature, animals and birds. They were also curious about our costumes, jewellery, bells /jingles and music.
After a brief explanation of the history of dance and the different aspects of Bharatanatyam, they expressed their interest in learning the art form and told us how much they appreciated the talk.
