Vizag hosts the 18th annual Vysachi Nrityotsav which showcases various classical dances

Bharatanatyam artists of Vasundhara Doraswamy troupe performing at Vysakhi Nrityotsav at Kalabharathi Auditorium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. | Photo credit: V. RAJU

Visakhapatnam hosted the 18th edition of Vysakhi Nrityotsav, an all-round dance festival helmed by founder and festival director BR Vikram Kumar, at the city’s Kalabharathi Auditorium over the weekend. Padma Shri awardee Darshana Jhaveri, exponent of Manipuri dance, received the Vysakhi Bharata Nritya Bhushan award, Vasundhara Doraswamy received the Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan Excellence award and Pavitra Krishna Bhat and Afsaan Gujaravat received the Yuva Puraskar award.

Ms. Jhaveri and her troupe (Manipuri) and Hari Reddy and his troupe (Kathak) kicked off the festival on Saturday along with animal mask dance by Odisha troupe led by Dhanu Bisai, a form rarely held in the city. Ms. Doraswamy and her group (Bharatanatyam) and Mr. Gujaravat and his group (Rajasthani folk) concluded the festival on Sunday.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Shloka Pakala, a final year B.Tech student of GITAM University, did her Kuchipudi Rangapravesham (debut) with ‘nattuvangam’ by her teacher KV Lakshmi of Nataraj Music and Dance Academy.

Published – 27 Sep 2026 22:48 IST