Press Report

Press Report
Solo performances of Rema Shrikant Choreographic presentations
ECPA performances  General
Commendable Perfomance
J. S. Pathak , THE TIMES OF INDIA, December 14, 1988
"Marked by a dignified and a captivating personality, Rema rendered nritta (pure dance) as playfully, sparklingly and suavely like a flow of waves in water which rise out of the other, and merge into each other. Rema’s body movements are very definitive".

 
Exquisite Expressions
P. Subramanium, INDIAN EXPRESS, March 16, 1993
 Rema Shrikant (Mohiniyattam), third day of classical dance festival at Tagore Hall, Ahmedabad on Sunday organized by State Sangeet Natak Akademi was marked with simple looking footwork and rhythmic gyrations. Neither jerks nor jumps. Smooth and soft to the accompaniment of cymbals, violin, maddalam and mridangam. The essence of Mohiniattam is lasya and Rema is made for that".   

 
Classical Dance Recital by Rema 
 Gauri Parimoo, THE TIMES OF INDIA, January 24, 1987
"Being a captivating personality,one could at once observe that Rema communicates with her audiences with persuasive intensity through her nritta and abhinaya. One could observe the artist’s wide ranging potential at rendering abhinaya having total consonance with the character devoid of any tinge of self-consciousness. In complete contrast with the highly graceful,lyrical and ‘feminine’styles like Mohiniyattam, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, Rema could transport her personality, temperament and outlook in rendering a predominantly ‘masculine’ dance like Kathakali with its characteristic vigorous, body movements,leaps, swirls and intricate footwork".  
Parvati- Another
Shilpa Desai, INDIAN EXPRESS, March 13, 1994
"Dancing to the accomplished Nattuvangam by Prof.C.V.Chandrasekhar,her guru and mentor,Rema Shrikant flawlessly slipped into the different roles, taking the audience with her through the entire gamut of experiences.Rema’s sensitive and animated rendering made Parvati a visual and sensual delight".
Rema regales Audiance
J.S.Pathak,THE TIMES OF INDIA,March 13,1994
Rema presented a solo ballet, Parvati based on Kalidasa’s Kumarasambhavam,choreographed by Prof.Chandrasekhar.She revealed a good blending of emotions and technically perfect movements of hands,feet,eyes and eyebrows".
A Delightful Evening of Dance
 Dr. John R Marr, Asian Voice, Saturday, 10th June, 2000 (London)
 AN EVENING OF INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE AT THE BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN (London)

The Bhavan’s (London) delightful dance programme of Bharatanatyam on May 28 was led by Smt. Rema Shrikant and included her students.The principal item, the Varnam , danced by Rema Shrikant was to Ragamalika commencing with Thodi was a beautiful item addressed to Lord Brihadeeshwara at Tanjore. As the climax of the  performance, this Varnam was magnificent and Smt. Rema danced it with great dedication and precision. Her use of the eyes was particularly noteworthy, set in a style of great classicism. Smt. Rema’s last piece portraying with vigor and heroism,the Rudra-Tandava of Lord Shiva, with frequent references to Chidambaram in her poses, was a triumphal conclusion to a varied and fascinating programme".
  
Rema Shrikant Impresses
Baroda, Nov. 29, 1979, The Indian Express
 "An enjoyable evening of classical dances - Bharatanatayam, Mohiniattam, Kuchipudi and a Krishna Leela ballet - was presented by Rema Shrikant and her students at the General Education Auditorium here, on Sunday. The programme was organized by Ellora Centre for Performing Arts, run by Rema Shrikant. The programme began with Nava Sandhi by Rema Shrikant, following by a Varnam which was replete with good abhinaya and nayika-nayaka bhava. In Dasavatara, her histrionic talents had full play particularly in the depiction of Narshimha. Rema's Ashtapati and BalagupalaTarangam in Kuchipudi were highly entertaining. The concluding number. Meerabai was deeply devotional".  
 Visual Delight
 THE TELEGRAPH - METRO - CALCUTTA,Friday 14 June 2002
 "For laymen, Rema Shrikant’s name may sound unfamiliar but those in the dance circuit rever and respect this reputed and highly creative and dedicated dancer-teacher. Director of Ellora Centre for Performing Arts, Baroda, and Shrikant is an exponent of both Bharata Natyam and Mohiniattam. She is equally at ease in Kuchipudi and Kathakali styles. This talented dancer adheres to the traditional classical form. Her performances is a treat to watch because it reveals a perfect blending of emotions and technically apt movements of hands, feet, eyes and eyebrows, an essential part of abhinaya. She is also a brilliant choreographer who has been highly acclaimed for her imaginative dance-ballets including Nritya Nivedanam, Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda, Andaal, Krishna Leela, Shree Ganesha, Skanda and Mayaa. Shrikant is lauded for her role as a model teacher. Over the years she has produced a number of talented disciples as well. At present she is in the city conducting a 10 day Bharata Natyam workshop for enthusiastic students. As the workshop concludes today, she, along with her disciples, will be presenting a dance recital tomorrow. Hosted jointly by Rabindra Sadan and West Bangal Dance Group Federation".  
Captivating Mystical 'Maya
Shyama Rajgopal,THE HINDU, October 12, 2002
The stage was full of happenings. Happenings of the world. They came and went enthralling the audience, and before any interpretation, they were gone, just like `maya'.Maya - the ballet choreographed by dancer Rema Shrikant from Vadodara, was a wonderful piece of beauty".

Mayaa - the ballet choreographed by dancer Rema Shrikant from Vadodara, was a wonderful interpretation of the concept of `maya' based on the Sankhya philosophy. The show was organised by the Cochin University Research Scholars Association (CURSA) on Thursday.

With a Hindi script set to tune based on Hindustani ragas, Mayaa was a piece of wonderful choreography in Bharatanatyam style. Fast paced, there was not a moment which did not engross the audience. The movements were supple and the performers were good with their style and coordination.

The 10 dancers, including a male dancer who played Mayaa are Ms. Shrikant's students based in Vadodara. Samvitti Joshi, played the woman personifying Mayaa while Indu Chakravarthy, Swapnil Mande Dalvi and Shivani Desai played the different `devi' forms - of Lakshmi, Saraswati and Mahakali signifying wealth, knowledge and power.

The concept of Purusha and Prakriti were played by Harikrishna Thakkar and Arpita Gargesh. Maushami Pradhan, Gayatri Shetty, Pooja Sastri were the other dancers who depicted the other worldly beings in the Universe".		  
Classic Choreography
Gauri Parimoo,THE TIMES OF INDIA, February 28, 1989
"Rema Shrikant, showed her potential as a choreographer with and imaginatively composed dance ballet based on Jayadev’s Gita Govinda which is a popular collection of verses, sung and danced in temples evoking the erotic sentiment of love between Radha and Krishna. The choreographer has thoughtfully tried to depict vividly varieties of moods and feelings that Radha passes through in her union and separation from Krishna, on the stage. The sakhis come and go, in the nritta interludes, filling the spaces of abhinaya pieces with spectacular nritta sequences. The movements and abhinaya of Krishna and Radha are dependent on Kathakali and Odissi styles, while the group of sakhis evoke certain movements in Kuchipudi's spirit. Tastefully designed costumes, based on the most poignantly pained Gita Govinda paintings of Pahari miniature schools, lend richness and ethnicity to the ballet. The Gita Govinda was performed recently at Baroda and Gujarat Refinery Township under the auspices of Ellora Centre for Performing Arts".
Three Words Pronounced in Dance
Seema Rajendran , The Times Of India
"The dance ballet on Shree Ganesha organized by the Ellora Centre for Performing Arts on Sunday evening was an educative and scintillating experience.The most striking part of the programme was the excellent synchronization amongst the 15 dancers and the flawless flow of the sequences. Not to forget the dexterity of the dancers, both at the abhinaya and nritta, pure dance. The best tribute to the performance was the refusal of the audience, at the C.C. Mehta Auditorium to budge from their seats till the programme ended'.
'Andal' Depicts Intence Devotion
Leena Misra, THE TIMES OF INDIA, March 1,1995
The Ellora Centre for Performing Arts (ECPA) recently staged the dance-drama “Andal” at the C.C Mehta Auditorium based on the saga of the Vaishnavite poetess of the south.The dance drama is beautifully choreographed by Rema Shrikant on the poems by Andal depicting a cascade of emotions, there is the little girl building sand castles, the young woman in the pangs of separation from her lover and yearning for her union with him and lamenting on his indifference towards her".
The Uday Shankar Dance Festival 2001 [Maya]'
by Tapti Chowdhariattendance 2001
"On the last day of the festival, the Ellora Centre for Performing Arts, Baroda, and Presented Maya, choreographed by Rema Shrikant. It was a rare treat. The dances were composed beautifully and the coordination between the dancers was awesome. The stage space was used to advantage. The team had worked hard and produced a thing of beauty. Rema Shrikant needs to be congratulated for her work. Rabindra Sadan was bursting at the seams on that day, the last day of the festival. There were people sitting on the floor of the hall".
Body Language- Dance
Sharmila Basu Thakur, The Telegraph, Metro, Calcutta, Friday 9th December 2005
"Innovation in traditional dance format was the central attraction of the programme presented by Anjika in association with Open Doors and Sanskriti Sagar at G.D. Birla Sabhagar November 27th. The evening opened with Mooladharam, a dance drama in Bharatanatyam by Rema Shrikant's group from Vadodara. It was  a colourful illustration of Kundalini, the energy in the human body mentioned in the yogic texts. The wedding sequence of Ganesha to Riddhi and Siddhi as his consorts was a gorgeous one with colourful umbrellas, masks and other interesting props.Precise group synchronization and perfect techniques made it a production with a difference"
Enthusiasm marks ECPA Show
Valli Maragath,INDIAN EXPRESS,September 13, 1992
"The Ellora Centre for Performing Arts (ECPA) and its director Rema Shrikant are both familiar and popular in the cultural panorama of Baroda. Rema has dedicated her life to promoting and popularizing various classical dance forms. Her sincerity and dedication to her chosen profession was very much visible in the annual 'Nrityostava' of ECPA on September 6 at the General Education Auditorium.The evening brought to light the hard work and perseverance by Rema and her co-teachers. The new untrained material from the nrityaramba stage to the finished product of varnam was well-represented. ECPA definitely deserves appreciation in awakening in so many a desire for the traditional classical art form".
Baroda Troups Comes of Age
Gauri Parimoo,THE TIMES OF INDIA, February 21,1991
"The Ellora Centre for Performing Arts in Baroda, begun a few years ago by Rema Shrikant has come of age with the performance of 'Nritya Nivedanam', conceived and choreographed by Rema. It was performed by her well trained group of girls in their teen and early twenties with such zest and verve that they won the hearts of the connoisseurs, most of whom were pleasantly surprised to see the well-rehearsed performance unfolding flawlessly. It is heartening to note that in the hands of a highly creative and dedicated dancer-teacher like Rema a professionally trained group of students is coming up in Baroda who can compete with any renowned dance academics and products of university faculties in terms of their technical virtuosity. Indeed they should be sponsored to take part in national and international dance festivals. Baroda public will always look forward to Rema’s fabulous dance productions. The premiere performance of the dance drama ‘Nritya Nivedanam’ which is the fifth major dance production of Rema, dealt with the evolution and development of Bharatanatyam from the age of the Devadasis to its present-day form. Dance was integral to temple ritual and worship, therefore the custodians of this dance were the Devadasis who were ritually married to the temple deity and were known as Rudraganikas. This tradition was prevalent in the Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the evidence of which is provided by the inscriptions of the Chola period. ‘Nritya Nivedanam’ is novel in its rendering because of its exploration of the form and technique of Bharatanatyam keeping its own history as the thematic link. Rema’s compositions are always imaginative, appropriate and bear the stamp of her originality as a choreographer. ‘Nritya Nivedanam’ marks the full blooming of her expressive ability as a dancer".
A Dance for the Guru'
Manju Ramanan ,The Times Of India - 22nd Feb.2001
LITTLE girls clad in traditional silk ghaghra cholis with lamps in their tiny hands enthralled the audience last fortnight at Gandhinagar Gruh dancing to a song of Deepawali. The colourfully dressed little ones seemed unfazed by the glare of arc lights and the presence of a huge audience. Their tiny anklets resonated to the beat of the naatuvangam and the mridangam.The show was tribute to Rema Shrikant- their Guru, Sangeet Natak Academy awardee and the founder of Ellora Centre for Performing Arts (ECPA) - which completed 25 years since its inception in 1976. Put together by Rema's old students - some of whom had begun dancing since the age of five - the show had 150 students of ECPA performing various items.
Rema's popularity as a teacher and guide was evident in the enthusiasm of 150 odd students. Rema Shrikant herself is elated by the celebration. "I am overwhelmed by the parents as well as the student's co-operation. All my students are like my children as I have seen many of them grown in front of me. She said 'Dancers are the messengers and they convey to the audience their personal absorbed movements'. All he students will definitely agree".		  
From Russia with sweet Memories
THE TIMES OF INDIA,Thursday,JULY 29, 1988
Rema Shrikant (third from right) during Russian tour.
"A 20-MEMBER group of Bharatanatyam dancers from Baroda has just returned after a two-month-long tour of the Soviet Union as part of the Festival of India. The group was led by Prof. C.V.Chandrasekhar, an eminent choreographer, dancer and musician, and head of the dance department, faculty of performing arts, M.S.University, Baroda. The group comprised promising youngsters and established artistes of the city, who gave scintillating performance of dance dramas entitled ‘Bhoomija’ and ‘Meghadoot’ in 12 cities of the Russian Republic.

Rema Shrikant, a senior dancer of the troupe, who played the most challenging role of Sita in ‘Bhoomija’ was praised by all for her performance".

 

  
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