Dr. Methil Devika, hails from Palakkad District in Kerala and is a practitioner, proponent and research scholar of the dance form of Mohiniyattam. She was trained in Mohiniyattam at the Regatta Cultural Society, Thiruvananthapuram and from Guru Kalamandalam Leelamma. She has received national accolades like the Ustaad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2007 for Mohiniyattam from the Kendra Sangeet Natak Akademi, the Devadasi National Award from Devadasi Nritya Mandir(Orissa)2010, and the highest state honour from Kerala called Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademy Award(2010), and the NIROD BARAN award from West Bengal. Her most recent award is the Madras Music Academy’s Best Dancer Award for the mid-year fest 2016. An A Graded artiste of the Doordarshan and an ICCR empanelled artiste, Devika is one of the youngest to be empanelled into SPIC-MACAY giving over 300 lec-dems in the past three years and performances at the National Conventions. Methil Devika’s choreographies in dance are well-researched and stand out for deep-rooted philosophy. Her paper-presentations and lec-dems in various universities abroad have been noted for the freshness and vivacity she has lent to Mohiniyattam weaving in thought-provoking themes but rooted in mythology and tradition. She has had solo performances in the USA, Switzerland, Esplanade-Singapore, Gulf countries and for major festivals in India, the recent ones being Khajuraho Dance Festival, Madras Music Academy, Bhagyachandra Festival and the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s prestigious Sangeetha Samaroh in Delhi. She is the artistic director of Sripada Natya kalari, a dance space she built on the norms of various knowledge-systems and which won the state architecture award in the year 2011. Devika received doctorate for her thesis in Mohiniyattam from the Bharatidasan University on September 2014. She worked as faculty at the Department of Post-graduate and Research Studies in Mohiniyattam at the Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University. Methil Devika is a gold medalist for MA(Dance) Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkatta as well as gold medalist for MBA, Madras University . She has a UGC/NET in Dance(2000) and a Ministry of Culture Fellowship in Mohiniyattam. Her Gurus in various facets of dance include Dr. V.S. Sharma, Kavalam Narayana Panikker, and Nelliyode Vasudevan Namputhiri.. Devika also received great appreciation for her first attempt in drama with her husband veteran actor Sri Mukesh O. Madhavan. Her character as Rani in the drama ‘Naaga’ has been lauded greatly by the theatre critics for the subtleties of female psyche that she brought into the character. She looks forward to doing her post-doctorate in the genre of meta-physics and dance. Her recent noteworthy performances are the ones at the Khajuraho dance festival and Bhagyachandra festival of Manipur.
REPERTOIRE
Mohiniyattam has been raised to a different dynamic with the dancer deftly using the subtle style of Mohiniyattam embedding it with great spirituality and appropriate technique and music. All choreographies are based on mythology, epics and local legends spanning the Indian sub-continent. Choreographies are well-researched and adapt ancient knowledge systems like vedic and tantric ritualistic symbols. The dancer has choreographed various work based on Ramayana, Mahabharata, Sangam literature, Buddhistic doctrine and legends of Kerala. It must also be mentioned that Methil Devika’s work is based greatly on human emotions within the framework of incidents rather than big stories.
REVIEWS
Madras Music Academy 2016 http://www.thehindu.com/…/friday-review/…/article8819654.ece
Khajuraho 2016Â
http://www.newsgram.com/khajuraho-dance-festival-2016-prom…/
www.thehindu.com/…/friday-revi…/dance/.../article2758148.ece
www.thehindu.com/…/fri…/dance/exquisite.../article677743.ece
http://www.thehindu.com/2001/04/20/stories/0920033e.htm
Queen of Abhinaya www.thehindu.com/tod…/…/queen-of-abhinaya/article2274345.ece
Interview www.narthaki.com/info/intervw/intrv131.html
In Search of the Roots www.thehindu.com/todays-pa…/tp-features/…/article6292800.ece
Mudra Festival www.thehindu.com/…/friday-review/dance/.../article677743.ece
@ St Antony's Parish Hall On Saturday 30th September 2017
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