Margazhi is one of the most auspicious months in the Tamil calendar. It’s also the time when Chennai celebrates classical music and dance forms with renowned artistes.
Bengaluru based Odissi dancer Preeti Banerjee started Margazhi Bengaluru at MEDAI, a performing arts space in the city to celebrate the festival in the city.
The five-day festival kicked off on 25 December with a sold-out show by Prabhas Arts International. The group presented a blend of Kathak and Bharatanatyam for the inaugural performance.
“The idea was to bring the entire fraternity to one place, which not only provides the performance space but also has one of the best lighting and acoustics in the city,” she notes.
As this is the first edition of Margazhi Festival in Bengaluru, the team decided to keep it small. Spread over one week, the festival will have one dance group performing each day.
For next year, the plan is to make it bigger and spread over one month to bring in not just dance but music, workshops, young upcoming artists along with established artists.
“Art isn’t free and artists shouldn’t have to perform for free either. It’s an ongoing debate. All our shows are ticketed and we don’t want to change that,” she signs off.