HYDERABAD: The International Kuchipudi Dance Festival was supposed to be just that, a celebration of the traditional dance form.The two-day event, which concluded at the Ravindra Bharati on Sunday, brought together over 1500 dancers of all age groups and featured around 110 performances.But behind all this, there was rancour, lack of coordination and ego clashes too so much so that some prominent dancers from the city boycotted the festival.The festival, which was supposed to be held months back, was deferred, its venue changed and some security concerns too had cropped up.Finally, when it did take place, the absence of dancers like Deepika Reddy, Padmaja Reddy, Alekhya Punjla, Shoba Naidu, who were a part of the organising committee, came as a disappointment for many.Was this due to ego clashes between them and the State Cultural Council president RV Ramana Murthy? Sources say yes.Though their disciples performed at the events, the gurus decided to stay away.Dancer Padmaja Reddy, who let her students perform at the event, made it crystal clear that she wasn’t happy with the way the festival was organised.“When the festival was initially chalked out, we had decided on holding seminars and workshops during the day and performances in the evening.But suddenly, the whole event was just limited to dances, without any fixed timings,” a prominent dancer from the city, who wished to remain anonymous, told City Express.“The committee lacked coordination.And they are calling it an international event when there is not a single international participant! We did not want to limit the event to just dance.It had to be about revising dance, making a curriculum to introduce Kuchipudi in schools and inspire youngsters to take up research on the art form,” she said.When contacted, dancer Deepika Reddy said she could not be a part of the festival as she was out of station.Explaining his side of the story, RV Ramana Murthy said, “We did not expect the event would be such a success.I was delighted to see so many youngsters participating in the event. It was like an event for Kuchipudi lovers, by Kuchipudi lovers and of Kuchipudi lovers.Referring to the behind-the-scenes action, he replied, “when people attend an event, they are usually asked how was the event, and not who were participating in the event.He further said, “I want everybody to know that this initiative is for the cause of culture and not for anyone in particular.When we organise such events, I need to take everybody’s view. I cannot encourage only one group.It’s temperament that some people have to work on. Such small things keep happening. I want them to know that even now ,they are my people, and I am always there for them.” For the participants, the event turned out to be a great chance to showcase their skills.For the audience, the presence of dancers Vedantam Satyanarayana Sharma, Pasumarthy Seetaramaiah, Bhagvatula Yagna Sharma, Yamini Krishnamurthy, Raja Radha Reddy and Bhanupriya, among other gurus like Uma Rama Rao, Uma Devi and Sumati Kaushal, who were felicitated, made it quite a day.
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