Dance
group Natyapriya specialises in Indian classical and folk
dance |
Natyapriya
is a group of dynamic and energetic women based in Norwich who
share a passion for dance. Anne Tiburtius explains how the group
was formed and shares her enthusiasm for their art.
The name
Natyapriya sums up how we feel about our passion. ‘Natya’
means dance in Sanskrit and ‘priya’ means love, so you could
say that we are lovers of dance.
When the
group formed in November 1996 for a five-minute dance act at
the Norwich International Club as a part of their Women’s
Day celebrations, we fully expected not to dance again.
Sharing
the spectacle
A
Natyapriya dancer |
But we had
underestimated the interest that our act generated. Very soon
we had a handful of bookings in venues in Norwich - even some
which were paid! Our audiences were so enthusiastic and warm
about our work that we slowly began to accept that we were quite
good.
Now the
group has been going for four years, the number of performances
have increased steadily and we, for our part, are now committed
more than ever to sharing the joy and spectacle of dance.
Natyapriya
specialises in Indian classical and folk dancing. We also perform
dance-dramas, theatrical pieces, pure dance forms and compositions
that are a synthesis of styles and often incorporate the spoken
word.
From
classical to contemporary
Founder
Anne Tiburtius |
The core
group has played a key role in staging two extremely successful
Indian fashion shows which had a considerable emphasis on dance.
The music that we perform to is as varied as our dances and
includes classical composers such as Ravi Shankar and
Shahji Maharaj and contemporary composers like Zakir
Hussain, Colonial Cousins and Shiv Kumar Sharma.
We are constantly
widening our repertoire and it is always exciting to see where
the next inspiration springs from.
Natyapriya performs
and runs workshops in schools and educational institutions, tailored
to suit the requirements of particular groups.
First published:
2002.
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