Mithun Shyam presents engaging Bharatanatyam recital at Music Academy Mid-Year Festival

Chennai: Disciple of Padmini Ramachandran, Mithun Shyam, presented an engaging Bharatanatyam recital at the Music Academy’s Mid-Year Dance Festival 2026 on Monday.

He opened the evening with a Thodayamangalam in ragas Kedara and Husseni, setting a devotional tone for the performance. This was followed by a traditional alarippu in Sankarabharanam, set to Rupaka tala.

The centrepiece of the recital was Veenai Sesha Iyer’s varnam ‘Devadhi deva’, choreographed by Padmini Ramachandran. Set in raga Shanmukhapriya and Adi tala, the piece was preceded by a virutham in raga Revathi. Through the varnam, Mithun invoked Nataraja of Chidambaram, drawing on the Bhikshatanar episode from the Darukavana legend to depict the cosmic dancer’s divine play.

The performance was noted for its clarity of technique and expressive storytelling, reflecting the training lineage of his guru Padmini Ramachandran.