Our Past Productions

In the early 80s, The Temple of Fine Arts brought out an annual Festival of Arts that brought on stage eager and talented students. Inspired by the creativity and passion of the dance masters Gopal Shetty and VK Sivadas, Swamiji began to produce dance dramas that would challenge creativity on every front - from choreography to costume, set design to sound and light, and started the institution on a journey of discovery in the realm of the imagination.

The corpus of work in the last 25 years include both big and small productions but none was too small to spark off the creative impulse as well as the artistic growth of our students.

Scene from Buddham Sharanam Gacchaami - The Transformation of Emperor Ashoka. The arrogant Ashoka gleams with pride as his vassals parade their gifts of courtiers, dancers and treasures in his court. The production successfully toured Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Penang, Perth, Colombo and Chennai.

 

In Taj Mahal, Shah Jehan's father, Jehangir and Nur Jehan are two important characters in the love story between Mumtaz and her beloved Shah Jehan.

 

In Taj Mahal, Swamiji set up a provocative premise for the narrative - what if Mumtaz herself wanted to see it? The plot is set aglow with the disembodied spirit of Mumtaz in paradise making a wish to visit the tomb built for her by Shah Jehan. Here, Mumtaz is seen rejoicing in paradise. The production toured Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Singapore and Chennai.

 

Butterfly Lovers was Swamiji's second successful attempt at bringing on stage a famous Chinese story. In this interpretation, contemporary movements were used. It was a first in terms of music composed specifically for a dance drama production. The production toured Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru, Singapore, Perth, Chennai and Colombo.

 

A short and non-exhaustive list of our stage productions:

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Legend of Mahsuri

Lady White Snake

Swan Lake

The Ramayana - An Asian Confluence

Odissi Odyssey

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Sundera Keralam

Taj Mahal

Shakuntala

Buddham Sharanam Gacchaami

Nadopasana

Naad Brahma

Butterfly Lovers

Naad Pravaham

Vishwa Vinayaka

Kaadambari

 

Most of these toured Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Singapore, Perth, Chennai and Coimbatore. More photos and videos were uploaded.