FESTIVAL ‘ 90 : DANCE REVIEW : L.A. FESTIVAL : ‘Mahabharata’ Worth the Risk

Arjuna and Karna are deadly enemies in the Indian epic “Mahabharata,” and so it made sense for Indian dancers Viji Prakash and Anjani Ambegaokar to try juxtaposing two different--though not antagonistic--dance styles in their “Sons of Kunti” version of the epic on Monday at Wadsworth Theater in Westwood.

Prakash, an exponent of Bharata Natyam--a southern Indian style characterized by angular and symmetrical movements--danced Arjuna with clarity, precision and sharpness. Ambegaokar, a devotee of Kathak--a northern Indian form full of furious footwork and whiplash turns--danced Karna with fierce energy and strength.

Their performance represented a risky experiment because the two forms are almost never put on the stage at the same time. Each, after all, easily could tell the story in its own terms since each allows the dancer to assume multiple characterizations.

In fact, both forms are so rich that the initial moments of seeing Prakash and Ambegaokar together created a crisis of choice: Whom to observe? How to adjust to missing--even momentarily--the other? Fortunately, most of the event proceeded sequentially, with each dancer venturing a different portion of the story.

The work began with the births of the two men and ended with Arjuna’s slaying of Karna during the apocalyptic battle at Kurukshetra. The nearly three-hour performance also included such key scenes as Krishna discoursing on the nature of reality (the “Bhagavad-Gita”). Assisting the principals in such scenes were their advanced students.

Two musical groups provided wondrous accompaniment. In the Bharata Natyam ensemble were Jahnavi Jayprakash, vocalist; N.G. Ravi, mridangam; Vina Kinhal, veena; P.T. Narasimhan, flute; and Krishna Kutty, violin. Among the Kathak group were Shubho Shankar, sitar; Abdul Sattar Tari, tabla; and Mala Ganguly, vocalist and harmonium player.