DANCE REVIEW : PRAKASH RECITAL AT UCLA

Whether arching backward into the towering posture of an Indian god or portraying a betrayed, scolding wife, Viji Prakash demonstrated exemplary clarity, warmth and expressivity in a nine-part solo dance recital of Bharata Natyam (the classical idiom of India), Friday at Schoenberg Hall, UCLA.

Prakash’s fleet footwork (emphasized by layers of ankle-bells); fluid, curvilinear arm movements, and sharply delineated mime gestures quickly transcended cultural differences; still, Westerners in the audience could be grateful for (and charmed by) introductory remarks in which she combined storytelling with hand and arm movements.

A recurring thematic element was the inconstancy of men (or male gods) and its effects on women, treated humorously, seriously or with cosmic eroticism: Radha’s yearning for her immortal lover Krishna was richly, sensuously detailed, for instance.

But Prakash’s most inspiring moments arguably came in the majestic “Benediction to Rama” in which she fluently traced the glorious serenity of the god, the pomposity and humiliation of arrogant kings who seek to vie with him and the religious ecstasy of the poet who pens the story.

Expertly accompanying Prakash were four musicians: her guru and choreographer, Kalyansundaram; vocalist Jahnavi Jayaprakash; drummer G. Ravi, and flutist A.N. Bhagyalakshmi.