Days dedicated to dance

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the Hay Festival, a five-day dance fest is all set to thrill the capital city starting Wednesday. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate the Natanagramam Natyolsavam at the Nishagandhi Auditorium at 5.30 pm on Wednesday. Organised by the Guru Gopinath Natana Gramam under the Department of Cultural Affairs, the five-day dance fest will feature noted dancers from across the country.There will be two performances every evening. The festival will open with ‘Kerala Natanam’ by the dancers of the Guru Gopinath Natana Gramam after the inaugural function. It will be followed by a Kathak performance by Pandit Rajendra Gangani.On November 24, the Folklore Academy will stage ‘Irula’ dance at 6 pm, which will be followed by a Bharatanatyam performance by Lavanya Anand at 7 pm.The performances on November 25 include Duryodhanavadham Kathakali by Margi, Thiruvananthapuram, and Bharatanatyam by Gayatri Subrahmaniam. An Ottan Thullal performance by Guru Gopinath Natanagramam Balakrishnan will be followed by Bharatanatyam  by Maithili Prakash on November 26.On November 27, the final day of the fest, Meenakshi Sreenivasan will perform Bharatanatyam, followed by a performance by Thiruvananthapuram Tharang.The festival also features an exhibition by the National Dance Museum, a handicrafts exhibition and a trade fair on the Kanakakkunnu Fair Ground.