Classical Dance Fest at Chhayanaut begins today

As in the last year, Chhayanaut is holding a two-daylong Classical Dance Festival at its main auditorium. The festival begins today at 6:30 pm. The aim of the festival is to promote and popularise classical dance forms.
Apart from showcasing four forms of popular classical dance -- Manipuri, Odissi, Bharatanatyam and Kathak, two lesser-known classical genres -- Mohiniyattam and Gaudiya Nritya will also be featured at the event. Apart from Chhayanaut students and teachers, invited guests from and outside Dhaka will participate in the programme.
Chhayanaut artistes with kick off the festival with Manipuri dance today. Accomplished Manipuri dancers-choreographers Samina Hossain Prema and Warda Rihab will perform on the inaugural day. Aside from Chhayanaut artistes, Salma Begum Munni, Amit Chowdhury, Shukla Sarkar and dancers of Srishti Cultural Centre and Dhrupad Kala Kendra will present Bharatanatyam.
Noted dancer-choreographer Sharmila Bandyopadhyay will perform Mohiniyattam while Proma Abanti (Chittagong) will present Odissi on the opening day as well. Tahnina Islam Jhumi, dancers of Akriti, Masum Hussain and noted dancer Munmun Ahmed will perform Kathak on the opening day.
Sonia Rashid with Farhana Ahmed, Orthy Ahmed, noted dancer-choreographer Tamanna Rahman and artistes of Nritym Nrityashilan Kendra will present Manipuri on the second day (November 10) of the festival.
Sudeshna Swayamprabha and artistes of Nrityashree will perform Odissi while Deep Narayan Roy (Noakhali), Sabrina Shafi Nisa, Asif Mohammad (Sylhet), Shubhra Sengupta (Chittagong) and dancers of Jago Art Centre will present Bharatanatyam on the second day.
Rachel Priyanka Paris will perform Gaudiya Nritya while Snata Shahrin, Partha Pratim Das (Sylhet), Tabassum Ahmed and artistes of Nrityanchal and Kathak Nritya Sampradaya will present Kathak on the concluding day.
ATN Bangla is the media partner of the festival.