A video of a dance on chess, released by the Pudukottai district administration to mark the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad that was inaugurated in Chennai on Thursday, has been going viral and getting laudatory reviews from the public.
Chaturangam — A Dance Depiction is a three-minute-and-48-second-long video that showcases the game of chess through the medium of Tamil Nadu’s folk art forms such as ‘Therukkoothu’ and ‘Poi-kaal kuthirai’ and martial arts like ‘Malyutham’ and ‘Silambam,’ besides the classical Bharatanatyam dance.
Helmed by Pudukottai Collector Kavitha Ramu, a trained classical dancer, the video enacting the salient moves of chess has garnered lakhs of views, and was also released by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on his official social media handles shortly before the Olympiad’s launch.
“Chessmen like the kings, pawns and rooks lend themselves beautifully to folk and martial arts, while the powerful queens can be portrayed beautifully through classical dance. As a dancer myself, I felt this would be the best way to create a visual impact about the game and bring some of the characters to life, while showing the world our art forms,” Ms. Ramu told The Hindu.
The enactment is set to a rousing musical background score that makes the balletic performances more impressive than traditional choreography.
The video was shot at Prasad Studio in Chennai on July 20, with artistes drawn from a talent pool from across the State. The shoot was financed by corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds from a number of companies, the official said.
Priyadarshini, an alumna of Pudukottai Music School, plays the Black Queen, and the White Queen is essayed by Sahana, a professional dancer and frequent collaborator with Ms. Ramu. Trained classical dancers Srinivas and Manikandan play the White and Black Kings, respectively.
For the other characters, ‘Therukkoothu’ players were selected from the Purusai Duraisamy Kannappa Thambiran Paramparai Therukkoothu Mandram in Kancheepuram district and Poi-kaal Kuthirai artistes from MPR Folk Arts Development Centre. The Silambam cast of eight male and eight female artistes are from Murugakani Asan’s troupe in Thiruvallur district.
Ms. Ramu said she was elated with the positive feedback. “I have been getting a lot of appreciative calls from friends and well-wishers since the release. It is a great honour for me and all the artistes involved in the project, for Chaturangam to have been shared on the Chief Minister’s official social media handles,” she said.
