When Nrityageet 40 is staged this weekend at the National Cultural Centre, it will mark the end of the longest running annual stage show in Guyana
According to the Nadira and Indranie Shah Dance Troupe, Nrityageet 40, which will be held at the National Cultural Centre on May 3rd and May 4th, will be its final annual dance theatre production.
In a statement released on Friday, the Troupe said the decision was taken to discontinue the annual show due to a lack of sustained interest from the business community as well as the Guyanese audience’s “seeming preferences for glamour, glitter and the more popular Indian dance styles.”
It added that although the annual show will no longer be a regular feature of the Guyanese theatre offerings, the Troupe will continue training and performing upon request for other cultural stage productions. It added that associated performers, such as the Guyana Ramlila Group, continue on in full force, preserving their heritage and celebrating their culture. “We dance for the love of dance, the love of the arts, the love of theatre arts. Our grand-parents and their ship family were producing Ramlilas in the Rice “factory” in Bel Air and Turkeyen, since they came in the 1800s. Costume making, male dancing, dramatic dance productions have been in the family for generations,” Nrityageet Director Dr. Seeta Shah Roath was quoted as saying.
According to the statement, the final production marks 40 years of remembering and celebrating, through dance, song, poetry and drama, the arrival of the first batch of East Indians to British Guiana on May 5th, 1838.
It noted that while the Shah sisters have been performing classical and folk dancing over 50 years, the first annual dance productions of Nrityageet, 1 and 2, were held at the Queen’s College Auditorium on May 5th, 1979, and May 4th 1980, respectively. Thereafter, Nrityageet was presented annually at the National Cultural Centre. In that time, over 1,000 dancers are said to have been showcased at Nrityageet.
The statement said the current Nrityageet cast includes a young cohort who have been working together for the past 10 years and their repertoire includes Kathak, Kuchipudi, Indian folk, filmy-folk and modern dance styles. These performers are also students of Nadira Shah Berry and Shah Roath and graduates of both local and international theatre arts programmes.
Additionally, the Troupe highlighted that Nrityageet has followed a path of diversity through dance and Guyanese of all ethnic origins share and perform Indian dance of different dance styles that are as diverse as its performers. The National Dance Company and National Dance School were also credited for their partnerships in training and performing as were the numerous dance teachers of the Indian Cultural Centre from 1976 to 2018.
In its 40 years, the Troupe’s statement noted, Nrityageet has received a number of awards for excellence in the arts. These include the “Icon of the Arts” award from the Theatre Guild of Guyana; Guyana’s national award, the Medal of Service, for “Sustained and Outstanding Contribution to the Cultural Mosaic of Guyana”; more than six Guyana’s Theatre Arts Awards, including for “Best Dance Production,” “Best Costumes” and “Best Set and a special award for 21 years of ‘Exceptional Diligence in the Pursuit of Excellence’”; the Madame Iffel Award of Barbados for “Best Dance Production,” and an award for ”Long and Sustained Dance Productions of Excellence” from the Guyana Cultural Association of New York. It was also noted that Nadira Shah Berry recently received an award from the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin for being an “Icon of preservation and promotion of Indian and Indo-Caribbean Dance, music, drama, poetry, and providing a forum for Cultural exchanges as well as cultural integration of dance and choreography.”
