“Shilpa was like fire on stage. She commanded great attention with her expressive eyes, energy and grace.”
“Watching Shilpa dance uplifted my soul. When we watch dancers like her, our eyes and mind are completely satisfied.”
“Shilpa is one of the most promising young artistes I have seen. She promises a bright future with her immense talent.”
“It is a pleasure to sing for such a natural dancer. To Shilpa, dance is as spontaneous as
walking. No stage seems too big for her. She flows from end to end.”
“Just the Varnam- Adi Shivane, is enough to show us what Shilpa is made up of. Her dance brought alive Padmini Ramachandran’s style in my mind. It has been a while since I watched a young Bharathanatyam artiste of such calibre.”
“With an imposing stage presence and eyes that speak volumes, Shilpa is clearly a standout dancer of her generation. I have watched her grow from being a dedicated practitioner under Guru Padmini Ramachandran, to a mature, intelligent and sensitive performer who has put her individual stamp on her Guru’s choreographies. Her own choreographic works are pieces to look forward to, for their well-researched content, freshness of thought and presentation. I laud Shilpa’s efforts in bringing her Kodava roots and her art together. Not only as a performing artiste, Shilpa has reached out to the art community through her writing and interviewing skills. Fearless and just, highly talented Shilpa Nanjappa is an artist to look out for.”
“Even today one can quite easily point out a dancer as a product of Natyapriya, the dancers having remained true to the zestful style despite having branched off on their own. One among the later crop
of dancers of Natyapriya who shone bright was Shilpa Nanjappa née Uthappa, whose recital at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bengaluru, was not only a tribute to her Guru, but was reminiscent of her style.
Yet, Shilpa was no mere clone. She proved herself to be an artiste through creating her own dance compositions that had substance to them in meaning and delineation, while literally continuing in the footsteps of her teacher by picking up some of her old, burnished pieces and presenting them in their original style and format, as in the rarely seen varnam, Velanai vara solladi modi saiyyamal (Purvikalyani raga) on Lord Muruga. Shilpa's portrayal of the Sita swayamvara in the devaranama, Adigo baruthihane
Sri Rama (raagamaalika), had a fresh feel to it despite the tag of being commonplace; in her hands it remained "commonplace" only at the surface level, her stately denouement making it a new experience.”
- Jyothi Raghuram
“Shilpa’s experience and confidence was evident in the invocation number itself. Usage of correct aleedas and prathyaleedas along with the beauty of accurate thattu mettus, strengthened the performance. The Varnam she chose depicts the virahothkanditha nayika, which she clearly communicated in the pallavi itself owing to her strong grip over abhinaya.”
- S. N. Chandrashekar
“Her Bharathnatyam recital displayed her fair grasp of technique. The profile of her
movements could not be at fault. Her footwork was facile. The Nritta, Nrithya and Abhinaya were of high standard. Her histrionic artistry was noteworthy.”
-Dr. M Suryaprasad
“Sound in both Nritha and Abhinaya: In the Mallari, Shilpa’s adavus were crisp. In the Varnam, she did full justice to both nritta and nrithya. Almost every jathi handled by Shilpa was in a complex pattern and she acquitted herself in an excellent manner. The javali, ‘Apadooruku’, in Khamas, gave much scope to the dancer to mime and she used the opportunity really well. She possesses all the features required for a good dancer and has a bright future."
- B. M. Sundaram
“When Practice leads to perfection: Shilpa presented the Varnam without any hurry and her face revealed expressive devotional intensity which was a feast for the eyes. The Vazhuvur purity, accuracy and stretch were clear and sharp.”
- Ganapathi Ramakrishnan,
“The Bharathnatyam recital of Kum. Shilpa Uthappa was noteworthy for the confidence and poise exhibited by the performer. In Varnam, the dancer negotiated the jathis and the different poses of Lord Nataraja with practiced ease. Shilpa maintained neat angika and is blessed with an expressive face.”
- Lochana
“She commenced with a Mallari and at once revealed an attractive presence. With her captivating movements, the Varna Adum Daivum was enlivening. With her sparkling eyes, her presentation of the Idene Sakhi was also impressive.”
- Mysore V Subramanya
“Shilpa’s excellence in Nritta, Nrithya and Natya was evident in her presentation. The ease and the precision with which she negotiated the demanding intricate complex jathis was amazing and her graceful rendering of Uthplavanas, Charis and Karnas was remarkable. In the Javali, Shilpa brought out the heroine’s emotions of love, anxiety and doubt with her excellent abhinaya.”
-Saraswati Rau
“The dancer displayed neat Abhinaya and direct eye contact with the rasikas, and flawless advavus while demonstrating the young child learning dance… Shilpa superbly underlined the patriot’s (Kittoor Rani Chennamma’s) anger… describing the passion felt by Nala and Damayanthi, the Manipravalan script invariably suited the context and the Nayika’s rendition was flawless.”
-Prabal Gupta
“A dancer who created a great impression and reminded me of the prima donna’ Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam, was Shilpa. Blessed with a striking presence and beautiful eyes, she danced the Thillana with perfect ease and grace.”
-Vijay Shanker
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