BACKGROUND

TAARANA A CENTRE FOR LEARNING DISABILITIES

Vijayaratnam Foundation recently embarked on a mission to establish Taarana (which means awakening
in Sanskrit), a school that caters to the requirements of children with special educational needs. Most of
these children are unable to handle the regular school curriculum or communicate well. Unfortunately,
due to a lack of awareness or understanding, their problems are often not recognised.

Taarana aims to provide a quality educational facility for children between the ages of six and 12 who
face challenges with delayed development in academic, social and adaptive skills, also known as Mild
Intellectual Disability (MID).
Hence, Vijayaratnam Foundation in collaboration with Kalpana Dance Theatre presents Dasavatar, a
fundraising event in aid of the school. We aim to raise funds to enable the centre to prepare these
children and integrate them into mainstream society for a brighter future.
For more information about the school, please visit www.vf.org.my.
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THE SHOW: DASAVATAR
The classical dance performance, Dasavataram is based on the story of the 10 incarnations of Lord Krishna
as recounted in the poem Dasavataram composed by 12
th
century poet, Jayadeva. The collection of
poems is known as Gita Govindam and this forms the basis for Dasavatara Ashtapadhi which envisions
the 10 avatars of Lord Krishna. This encompassing story is recounted through the Bharatanatyam
dance form and is presented by both local and internationally known dancers from India. The dance
is choreographed by award winning choreographer and dancer Gayatri Balagurunathan. The music
composition for the Swarams is produced by T.K. Padmanabhan and the Jathis is composed by K.
Gopinath.
The story unfolds with Lord Maha Vishnu lying upon the Adisesha (the thousand headed serpent)
along with his spouses Lakshmi and Bhumidevi, while the celestials praise His greatness. To uphold
the Vedas and the living beings, He takes the form of a sh (Matsya). He subsequently, assumes the
form of a Tortoise (Kurma), during the churning of the ocean in order to aid the Devas (Gods) and the
Asuras (demi gods).
He bears Bhumidevi (Mother Earth) on His bare tusks and saves her from the clutches of the asura (Demon)
Hiranyaksha by taking on the form of a wild Boar (Varaha). He then tears open Hiranyakashipus
stomach with his sharp claws while in the form of half-lion, half-man (Narasimha).
Later assuming the form of a dwarf (Vamana), the Lord quells King Mahabalis pride and measures
the three worlds. He then incarnates as Parasurama and destroys all of the Ksatriya clan who threaten
the sadhus. As Rama, he lives the life of an ordinary human being and kills the ten headed Ravana. As
Balarama, He tames the wild river, Yamuna, which refuses to ow through Vrindavan.
As Buddha, the Lord stops animal sacrice and preaches ahimsa or Non Violence. When there is evil
in the world and when justice and rightfulness are forgotten, the Lord will appear on a white horse,
wielding a shining weapon in the form of Kalki avatar.
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DATE AND VENUE
4, 5 & 6 March 2011, Auditorium Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur.
ARTISTS
Choreographer Gayatri Balagurunathan
Vocals O.S. Arun
Dancers Datin Umayal Eswaran
Gayatri Balagurunathan
P.T.Narendran
Shangita Namasivayam
Apsara Ramgopal
Vennila Sivaneswaran
Daisygarani Tamilselvam
Kalyani Pushpangathan
Nattuvagam V. Balagurunathan
Mridangam K. Ramesh Babu
Flute S. Sunil Kumar
Violin Gayatri Vadivel
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THE ARTISTS BACKGROUND
Dancer/Choreographer Gayatri Balagurunathan
Gayatri Balagurunathan is a dancer who inherited her good looks and
dancing talents from her mother, the great Nritya Choodamani
Krishnaveni Lakshmanan of Kalakshetra. Gayatri began her
dancing career under the tutelage of renowned teachers Sharada
Hoffmann and N.S.Jayalakshmi and then had her arangetram
under her mother and Guru Krishnaveni Lakshmanan. She has
come a long way in her career and is widely knowledgeable
in the theory of Bharatanatyam and Folk Dances of India.
She has basic training in Kalari Payattu (Martial Art Form of
Kerala), and Mohini Aattam. Gayatri has won many awards
and is a prominent and talented dancer as well as a great
choreographer and a patient loving teacher.
She has performed thematic shows on Drug Abuse, HIV/AIDS
Awareness etc, these have won her state awards. She along
with her husband V, Balagurunathan (A Bharatanatyam
tutor at SIFAS, Singapore) produced many dance dramas
namely Thrayee Shakthi, Ayigiri Nandhini, Aran Aadal and
Aynkaran.
Gayatri has toured many countries,
enthralling the rasikas with her creativity and
attractive stage presence. She has performed in the United States of
America, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, South Africa and New
Zealand. She was also part of the prestigious Thyagaraja Festival 2010
held at Cleveland, Ohio.
She has won awards namely Balasaraswathi endowment award,
T.S.Parthasarathy award, Yuva Kala Bharathi, Sathya Kalpana
Praveena Sundaram, Nrithya Chinthamani for her dancing talents.
She was recently awarded with the prestigious Ustad Bismillah Khan
Yuva Puraskar 2008, by the Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi, for
her excellent achievement in Bharatanatyam.
Gayatri is also known for her creativity in choreography that is within
the boundaries of the aesthetic natyam as taught to her by her teachers.
She has done two workshops on karanas under Dr.Padma Subrahmaniam.
She runs her private school in Chennai named - Krishnanjali.
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Vocals O.S Arun
O.S. Vaidyanathan or Arun, as he is more popularly known, is
undoubtedly one of the most gifted Carnatic musicians in the
India. He is known for his sonorous voice that he wields with
much condence and musical personality and which he
employs in tandem with his superior stagemanship.
Arun inherits the mantle of singing from a family
where music is a way of life. He was given to Carnatic
Music in the Parivar Parampara and began his music
lessons under the careful ear of his father Vidwan O.V.
Subramaniam. Arun later qualied Alankar Purna from
Gandharva Mahavidyalaya.
He also topped the Sangeetha Shironmani diploma course
in Carnatic music conducted by the Faculty of Music and
Fine Arts at Delhi University. Known for its vitality, Aruns
music has combined grace of sound grammar and warmth
of feeling. He also has a wide repertoire of songs, which has
earned him a keen following.
Arun has performed widely, both in India and abroad. His
performances at various festivals include appearances at the India
International Centre, the India Habitat Centre, the Vishnu Digambar Festival,
the Rasika Ranjani Sabha in Calcutta, the Krishna Gana Sabha, Haridas Sammelan, Mylapore Fine Arts
Club, and Kalarasana Chennai.
He has also performed at the Badri Kedar Utsav arranged by the UP Cultural Department, ICCRs Parivar
Parampara Series, Sangeet Nrityotsav arranged by the Sangeet Natak Akademi/ICCR, the Sanskriti
Festival in London and the World Adelaide Festival in Australia.
Other performances include those at the International Delima Festival in Mauritius, the 45th
Independence Day in Kabul, Afghanistan, and the National Centre for Performing Arts in Bombay. He
was featured at the Qutub Festival in Delhi and performed for the United Nations on the occasion of
Human Rights Day.
His appearance as Kovalan in an Indian Opera staged at the Singapore Art Festival won accolades
both by the people and the media. Aruns trip to Canada every year has given him new directions for
collaborative works with jazz musicians.
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Dancer Datin Umayal Eswaran
Datin Umayal Eswaran, Chairperson of the Vijayaratnam Foundation
along with her husband, Dato Vijay Eswaran has been heavily
involved in the promotion of arts and culture and working with
underprivileged children on a personal basis for many years
now. She has also worked behind the scenes on setting
up the global Corporate Social Responsibility arm of the
QI Group, RYTHM Foundation, since its inception in an
unofcial capacity. Only recently, when the Malaysian
Chapter of RYTHM Foundation was set up as a tribute
to her Father-in-law, she consolidated her role into an
ofcial position as the Chairperson and Executive Board
Member of the Vijayaratnam Foundation.
In this role, she oversees the day-to-day activities of the
Foundation and is part of the Executive Committee that
evaluates proposals and oversees new projects and is the
spokesperson for the various initiatives undertaken by
the Foundation. Her key area of focus for the Foundation
remains a cause close to her heart, which is to help children,
especially those with physical and mental challenges and
building a school to help those with special needs.
A connoisseur of the performing arts, Datin Umayal is herself a
trained Indian Classical Dancer who has studied under the great
Bharatanatyam exponent Guru Vasuki Shanmugam Pillai and performed
professionally in Malaysia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka. She has also taught the Bharatanatyam dance
form to aspiring young dancers in Hong Kong, Philippines and Malaysia.
Among the many hats she wears, she is also the Publisher of RYTHM House Publishing, a dynamic,
young publishing rm that specialises in life management and motivational titles. Datin Umayal is a
qualied systems analyst who has studied in India and Sri Lanka, the country of her origin, where she
grew up in an orthodox Tamil business family headed by the patriarch who coincidentally shares the
name of her Father-in-Law Mr.Vijayaratnam.
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Dancer - P.T. Narendran
P. T. Narendran graduated from Rukmini Devis Kalakshetra in
Chennai which he joined at the age of eleven. Since 1989, he
has been one of the principal dancers of the Kalakshetra dance
troupe. After receiving his post-graduate diploma with rst
class honours and 10 years on the faculty, Narendran has
chosen to freelance his art. Almost overnight, Narendran
has turned into a celebrity dancer worldwide. He is one
of the most sought after Bharatanatyam dancers in India
and abroad. Narendran captures audiences with his
deep understanding of Bhava (emotion) and Abhinaya
(expression). In addition, this masculine, energetic dancer
has a sense of rhythm and immediately hypnotizes spectators.
Although his tenure with Kalakshetra is over, Narendran is
often featured as a principal dancer in their dance dramas,
where he has developed a presence and command through
the major characters he has embodied.

P. T. Narendran not only works with classical
Bharatanatyam, but he also collaborates
on modern, contemporary and traditional
dance projects with a wide range of groups from Kalakshetra to Rudra
Bejart Ballet. As a freelance Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer
and teacher, he has given solo dance recitals, lecture demonstration
and workshops all over the world. Some of his choreographic
projects include: Ramayana (1994), a ballet produced by the
Department of Culture Reunion Island, Manasarovar- Sacred Lake
(1998), a contemporary production based on Bharatanatyam with the
participation of artists of Reunion Island for the
50th Anniversary of Indian Independence and
most recently, Ashokavanam (2009) a production
combining the story of the Ramayana and the issue
global warming in Australia.
Narendran has toured widely in high prole festivals and performances
all over India, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Reunion
Island, South Africa, Kuwait, Russia , Spain , Portugal , Germany, France,
Poland, Switzerland, Holland, England and Italy. His powerful & dynamic
dance performances have made him one of Bharatanatyams most important
modern-day, international ambassadors. In Chennai alone, the Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram awarded him
the Bharatha Natya Kalaingan in 1989, the Kalaimagal Sabha presented him with the Silver trophy in
1995 and the Temple of World Peace gave him the Gnana Oli Thiru Thondar Award in 2001.

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Dancer Shangita Namasivayam
For Shangita, dance is not some rareed, exotic activity far removed
from the perceivable. Instead, dance has always been the
manifest expression of the unmanifest impression. After having
completed her early years of dance in Sri Lanka, Shangita
proceeded to one of the foremost centres of Bharata Natyam
- Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts in Madras, founded by
Srimati Rukmini Devi Arundale, one of the contemporary
greats of eastern culture.
Trained by brilliant gurus in the true guru-sishya parampara,
Shangita completed both the diploma and post diploma
courses with rst class honours. Rukmini Devi once said of
Shangita, She is highly intelligent, gifted, and is a polished
as well as accomplished dancer. Words of praise rarely
heard from this great personality.
She toured extensively with Kalakshetra and went on to
work with the internationally renowned dance choreographer
Chandralekha, which whom she was involved in creative and
innovative explorations of Bharatanatyam.
To enhance her understanding of movement and greater strength and suppleness, she took up the
ancient martial art form of Kalaripayat. Shangita has also been actively involved in the experiment of
using dance as a form of therapy for the mentally and physically handicapped.
It would be no exaggeration to say that Shangita has travelled widely as an
ambassador of Indian Classical Dance. She has performed in Sri Lanka,
India, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, Pacic Islands, England, Hong
Kong, Germany, France, Australia, and South Africa. She has been
honoured with the titles Natya Kalamani and Nritya Choodamani.
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Dancer Kalyani Pushpangathan
There is one language that everybody in this world can understand - the inherent language of dance.
That is what attracted Kalyani Pushpangathan to explore dance as a form of expression. Kalyani, an
accidental dancer has always seen dance as a beautiful art form. She has always wanted to be a singer
but fate has led her to be a dancer. Trained under Teacher Vasugi Jegatheeswaran from eight to 14
years old, she was born and raised in Sri Lanka. Now, a mother of two, she picked up dancing again
for charity.
After not dancing for over 20 years, she started training again for one and half years prior to performing
in Dasavatar. Her determination to excel in dance showed with her rigorous training every day in
anticipation of the show. The reason for picking up dancing again was solely motivated for the charity
cause of Dasavatar which is the setting up of Taarana. Being part of such a noble cause has pushed
Kalyani to embrace dance again, especially for more charitable events in the future.
Nattuvangist Sri.V.Balagurunathan
Sri V.Balagurunathan hails from a family of Shivaacharyas and took to dancing at an early age. He is
a post graduate from the prestigious institution, Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, India. He is also a
graduate in English Literature from the University of Chennai and worked under Mrinalini and Mallika
Sarabhai in Ahmedabad for a period of three years.
He is an all rounder in the basics of Kathakali, Kalari payattu (martial art form of Kerala), Carnatic
Vocal and Nattuvangam. Sri.V. Balagurunathan has toured widely as a Nartaka (male dancer) and as
Nattuvanar.
Balagurunathan joined the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society in June 2001. He has been implementing
all his talents while at SIFAS. Most of his students have shown their talents by coming out with distinction,
best student awards and Natya Visharadh titles in their examinations. Bala has choreographed
many special themes for Academy day namely, Ranjani Mala, Bakasura Vadham, Chamundeshwari,
Aarumugan and many more.
He has many dance dramas to his credit which has won him great acclaims as a dancer and choreographer.
These are - Thrayee Shakthi, Purush Prakriti, Kannappa Naayanar, Ayigiri Nandhini, Aran Aadal and
most recently, Aynkaran.
As a performer, he has won applause for his exemplary dancing in the productions Shringaar, Cosmic
Dance, Bells in trance, Shivarpanam and Dasavataram. Sri Balagurunathan is a dedicated teacher who
is committed and sincere to his work. His efforts have been very fruitful which is evident in the number
of senior students he has trained, many of whom have taken part in the temple programmes and SIFAS
arts festival.
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His humble nature and warm approach is a great asset to his career. Balagurunathan had also been
taking classes at the Umaruppulavar School and there too he has proved himself as a wonderful
teacher and choreographer. Balagurunathan has been a part of the prestigious Thyagaraja Aradhana
Festival held at Cleveland, 2010.
He was also invited to perform at the Swami Thyagaraja festival at South Africa, 2010 and is the
recipient of the title Nrithya Kala Nipuna, awarded in his home town, Karaikkal, for his excellent
contribution to Bharatanatyam.
Mridangist K.P Ramesh Babu
K.P.Ramesh Babu is an accomplished percussionist from Chennai, India. He hails from a family known
for their extraordinary artistic talents. Ramesh started practicing the percussion at a very early age
under the guidance of his father Shri K.P. Bhaskar Das and master teacher Shri. Puthukode S. Krishnan.
His mother, Mrs.Kalamandalam Chandrika, a noted Bharathanatyam (Indian classical) dancer and
teacher helped him train as an accompanist for dance. His passion for music and search for excellence
led him to his guru, Shri Karaikudi R.Mani.
Ramesh Babu became a dynamic performer and won many prizes in the All India Radio music
competitions. His versatility earned him a scholarship from the Cultural Department of India. Ramesh
has emerged as a successful freelance artist who has accompanied some of Indias nest musicians and
dancers on the media and stage. He has had the pleasure of accompanying dance luminaries such as
the Dhananjayans, Krishnaveni Laxman, Chandrasekhars, Narasimhacharis, Leela Samson, Madhavi
Mudgal, Alarmel Valli and several upcoming artists. Ramesh has accompanied music virtuosos such as
B.V.Raman and Laxmanan, Vairamangalam Laxminarayanan, Sriram Parasuram and Anuradha Sriram,
Palai C.K.Ramachandran, O.S.Arun, and T.V. Ramprasad . He has worked as a dance accompanist
with the Dananjayans at Bharatha Kalanjali in Chennai for the past 16 years. Ramesh has travelled
throughout Asia, Europe, Australia, and the United States assisting several dance companies world over
by providing rhythmical support, scores and compositions.
For the past several years, Ramesh has worked closely with dance companies such as Kalanjali dances
of India, California; Apsara Arts, Singapore; Bharatha Kalajali, Australia. He has played at important
occasions such as Khajuraho Dance festival, Konark Dance Festival, India International Centre, Swaralaya
Festival, Surya Festival, and Indian Art Circle, Kuwait; and the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival.
Apart from being a percussion virtuoso, with prociency over several types of percussion instruments,
Ramesh has many music compositions to his credit.
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ABOUT THE ORGANISERS

VIJAYARATNAM FOUNDATION
Vijayaratnam Foundation was established in April 2006 by Dato Vijay Eswaran, Executive Chairman of
the QI Group as the Malaysian Chapter of RYTHM Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the QI Group
of Companies. The Foundation is a tribute to his father Mr. S. Vijayaratnam, to continue his legacy
of philanthropic activities started over 60 years ago. The Foundation focuses on four main areas
education, community development, arts & culture, and the environment.
The Vijayaratnam Foundation facilitates the inception and implementation of various initiatives and
projects through its work with the public and private sectors, civil society, and the philanthropic
community in Malaysia.
Please visit www.vf.org.my for more information on Vijayaratnam Foundation.
KALPANA DANCE THEATRE
Kalpana Dance Theatre, a young and vibrant Malaysian dance group, is the brainchild of its resident
artistic director, Kalakshetra trained Shangita Namasivayam. Although a edgling dance group,
Kalpana Dance Theatre has proven itself to be signicant in the Malaysian dance world. Together with
Daisygarani Vijayakumaran, its principal, Shangita Namasivayam has successfully injected into Kalpana
Dance Theatre that same professionalism, artistic execution, passion, enthusiasm, rigorous discipline
and unfailing commitment distinctive to Kalakshetra. Thus, Kalpana Dance Theatre is set to play a
major and inuential role in dance.
Kalpana Dance Theatre strives to be in the forefront of Indian dance by consistently performing all
over the world while holding performances in Malaysia showcasing dancing greats from other parts
of the world. Kalpana Dance Theatre also conducts Bharatanatyam and Odissi classes at Vivekananda
Ashram in Brickelds, Kuala Lumpur. So impressive is the quality of Kalpana Dance Theatres work that
a signicant afliation with the Pracheen Kalakendra of Chandigarh, India quickly became a reality.
Through Kalpana Dance Theatre, students can now achieve higher levels of technical competence and
artistry.
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