Malavika Sarukkai - Press Excerpts


‘Unusual choreography…..unique feel for nritta ……..areas of freewheeling exploration of dance and music …..Drops of water becoming larger bodies, the circle of life shown through waves and recurring cycles, floor terrain rapidly traversed showing Ganga’s gushing ease all ending with the quietude of complete submersion, symbolized an involved personal journey, the search finally attaining a different level of consciousness’
Leela Venkatraman, The Hindu, Chennai 08.08.08.

Malavika has created a 90 minute dance-drama inspired largely by her love of the Ganga, which promises to be a visual and sensory treat…… Malavika’s work is not merely technically perfect but full of improvisation, and her musicians have to be in tune with her right through without missing a beat. Eye contact, body language, audience reactions-everything has a role to play in the final analysis of a truly great performance.
JP, Deccan Herald, Bangalore 16.03.09.

Cerebral in ideas and impassion in rendition, Malavika’s Bharat Natyam involved heart and mind in demanding proportions………. The final scene amidst ringing temple bell captures the aarti with lighted camphor, the amplitude of the dancer’s moving torso and circling hands reflecting exuberance. Very evocative was the contemporary message of the polluted Ganga…….. Leela Venkatraman, The Hindu,New Delhi 27.02.2009.

A goddess dances at Edinburgh. The Guardian

My pick … remains Malavika, who this season, reinforced her claim of being India's best soloist with her continuous quest of keeping body, mind and spirit together in her art and spatial arrangements. Anita Ratnam. narthakionline@gmail.com -
Narthaki newsletter – January 2010