Performance Fetes Krishna’s Birthday

Lord Krishna’s birthday, on Aug. 30, is a date that might not be marked on every Southland calendar, but when Ramaa Bharadvaj starts dancing about it, it becomes a celebration that even the uninitiated can enjoy. In “Yatra--A Journey to India,” a program shared with singer Mala Ganguly and the Ragamala Music Ensemble at California Plaza on Sunday night, Bharadvaj’s own Angahara Ensemble whipped up an atmosphere that was as festive as it was aesthetically crystalline.

The marriage of brisk, geometrical, brightly costumed Indian classical dance with the plaza’s pools, waterfalls and night sky was fortuitous, starting with “Swagatam Krishna,” a swiftly precise invocational dance in the style of bharata natyam, the classical dance of southern India. For each dance, Bharadvaj took the role of Radha, and her daughter, Swetha, that of Krishna, each bringing to their duets beautiful lines, clear shapes and vivid mime. “Tarangam” was performed in the kuchipudi style, a related classical form known best for its trick of doing rhythmic footwork at the edges of a brass platter. “Prema Geetam” brought the Ragamala Ensemble, who had started the evening, back to the stage (replacing recorded music for the previous two dances). It told a tale of lost and found jewelry--or lost and found love, perhaps--most picturesquely, showing once again the charm and skill of the Bharadvaj duo.

Ganguly’s singing added much to the last dance, and in the first half of the evening, it could be enjoyed fully, accompanied by the ensemble: David Trassof (sarod), Paul Livingstone (sitar), David Philipson (flute) and Ramesh Kumar (tabla). At times, Ganguly’s voice seemed like a band of velvet stretching into the night.

Appearing at intervals was narrator Seth Silvernail, who read translated lyrics and, at one point, explained Krishna’s mime as it was demonstrated by Swetha Bharadvaj.