Nahid Siddiqui casts a spell on dance festival

Shahab Ansari

Friday, March 15, 2013
From Print Edition

 

LAHORE

Nahid Siddiqui and her students immaculate dance performance on Thursday, the opening night of the three-day-long Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop’s 2nd National Dance Festival stole the hearts of the audience in jam-packed amphitheater of Rafi Peer Cultural Complex, Green Acres, Raiwind Road.

Siddiqui needs no introduction she is the face of Kathak in the country. She has been performing dance for four decades and as a dancer she has showed different height to Kathak, carving a niche for herself in the dance form. Nahid’s subtle moves kept the audience spellbound during her hour’s long performance. The serenity which flowed from her dance movements resurrected the centuries old classical dance genre. The set, specially designed by the late Faizan Peerzada, the jewel in the crown of the RPTW, added to the spell of the milieu. Siddiqui’s flawless performance and the synchronized moves of her female students made the entire show one of the most admirable events in the performing arts on this slightly cold and cloudy mid-March evening.

It is pertinent to note that the ongoing 2nd National Dance Festival is not only a grand happening in the provincial metropolis in terms of entertainment and performances but it is also a very significant initiative in supporting and promoting the classical dance and the dancers. Due to the gloom in the air due to untimely exit of Faizan Peerzada, the festival was made thundering success by Faizan’s colleagues and family. The Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop has been actively supporting performing arts in Pakistan since 1974. It has brought artist and performers from all over the world in Pakistan. Dance Festival is a remarkable amalgamation of traditions, styles and disciplines of dance from across Pakistan and its sub-continental history.

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