South Kolkata Nrityangan, one of the renowned classical dance institutions in Kolkata organised their maiden edition of Classical Dance Festival titled 'Nrityasamaroh' on 18 February, 2023 at the Indian Council For Cultural Relations - Kolkata. The glorious evening commenced with an opening Group Dance by the students of South Kolkata Nrityangan. The audience also witnessed engrossing performances by the legendary artists from various parts of India. Guru Gopika Verma from Kerala who is a Sangeet Natak Academy awardee and an exponent of 'Mohiniyattam', Guru Gajendra Panda from Odisha and an exemplary Odissi performer, Guru Sandeep Mallik from Delhi Kathak Kendra, an outstanding 'Kathak' artist and from Kolkata Smt. Bimbavati Devi, a noted 'Manipuri' exponent and Sri Rajdeep Banerjee, an eminent Bharatanatyam presented on stage their extraordinary moves.
The concept of 'Nrityasamaroh' was originally conceived by Smt. Jhinook Mukherjee Sinha, an acclaimed Bharatanatyam performer and also the founder of one of the oldest dance schools in Kolkata, South Kolkata Nrityangan. She is the disciple of Dr. Guru Smt. Thankamani Kutty has impressed people across the globe through her versatile performances on several occasions. She is an empanelled artist under the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India, Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) as well as Doordarshan Kolkata. In January 2023 at the G20 Summit which was held in Kolkata, Smt Jhinook Mukherjee Sinha headed choreography of the cultural programme which was a part of this Summit.
“The initiative of 'Nrityasamaroh' is specially curated for providing an esteemed platform to the budding artists inhabiting in the remote areas of Kolkata as well as West Bengal. The show will shed light on the blooming talents whose skills and creativity remained obscure due to certain socio-economic issues and the unfair challenges imposed on them against their will. It aims to eradicate the boundaries. The prime purpose of this cultural evening is to assist the young, underprivileged artists to overcome all the limitations and disparities surrounding them so that they can achieve the deserved prestige, recognition and flourish further”, said Smt. Jhinook Mukherjee Sinha, Director, 'Nrityasamaroh'.