Mysuru:  Sri Nimishamba Dance Promoters had organised its 21st annual cultural extravaganza  ‘Hejje-Gejje’ at Jaganmohan Palace recently.

In the State-level Dance Competition organised as part of the two-day programme, a total of 96 dance troupes took part in Solo, Duet and Group Dance categories under three sub-divisions — Junior, Senior and Elders (Above 30 years).

Highlight of this annual cultural extravaganza was a dance feature titled ‘Bharata-Bahubali’ enacted by 120 students of Sri Nimishamba   School of Dance.

The star attraction of the performance were Vid. Shridhar Jain of ‘Apthamitra’ fame who played the role of Bahubali and Bengaluru’s Vid. Suryanarayana Rao (son-in-law of actress Vinaya Prasad) of ‘Aptharakshaka’ fame who played the role of Bharata.

Chamarajanagar’s Vid. Mahesh donned the role of Minister, ably accompanied by Vid. Naveen Andagaru on vocal, Vid. G.T. Swami on midanga, Vid. Shantakumar on violin, Vid. Anil Iyer (Bengaluru) on natuvanga and Raghavendra Rangadhol (Shivamogga)   on rhythm pad.

Yoga Guru Pashupathi and team gave a yoga demonstration, while a team of four Russian artistes presented a dance, which was widely applauded by the audience.

Actor Arun Sagar, Prof. Krishnegowda, Advocate Harish Hegde, Kannada & Culture Assistant Director H. Channappa and others were present.

Winners: Junior – Western: Solo – 1. Deeshna Bharadwaj; 2. Rithvik Nayak;  3. Lehar Deeparaj;  Duet-  1. Darshan and Kiran; 2. Niharika and team; 3. Shravya and Digant; Group – 1. RDC2; 2. RDC and 3. Soundarya and group.

Senior – Western: Solo – 1. Sneha Kashyap; 2. Supriya; 3. Nishant  and special prize – Mythri Ganesh; Duet – 1. Supriya and Nivedita; 2. Raghu and Sneha; 3. Mysuru Rockers Dance Academy; Group – 1. Mysuru Ambari; 2. Unique Scizlers, 3. Mysuru Rockers Dance Academy.

Junior – Folk: Solo – 1. Nishita and group 2. Bhumika Jain  and group.

Veteran- Western (Special prizes) Duet – 1. Sahana and Divya;  2. Shwetha and Manasa; 3. Dream Achievers; Group – 1. Dream Achievers; 2. USA Dazzlers; 3. USA Baby Dolls.

Special Prize: Yadugiri Gopalan and Yashoda.