In the open air of the picturesque library grounds, the fourth section emerged called Narmada, a river poem. The gorgeous music by Rajkumar Bharathi it contained flute playing by Prakash Hegde and violin by Embar Kannan, sustaining effervescent vocals by Nandakumar Unnikrishnan. Paying homage to the holy River Narmada in India, Shivani Aysola, Vyshnavi Aysola, & Nishitha Viswanathan, with bell ankle bracelets, were idol like and incorporated a water element with a sacred bowl. Many truly enjoyable moments from choreographer Malathi Iyengar are the directional changes. The birdlike head motions were perfect while exhibiting fantastic musicality and rhythm. The outdoor location was visually sublime and what better place then outside when describing nature. Another water and feminine element, floating scarves were soothing in the light breeze. Lakshmi Iyengar did an impeccable job at costume design. This was a phenomenal segment and was my favorite presentation.

—Alice Alyse, LA Dance Chronicle

It was a pleasure to watch the dancers showcase their artistry and grace with fluid movements in pure dance (nritta), beautiful, concise and rich emotions (abhinaya) and drama with expressive facial and hand expressions (natya) in individual segments embedded in the varnam. The choreography was exquisite in combining the dance segments with expert story telling.

— Sudha Prakash, narthaki.com

Dressed in green and gold, Lakshmi Iyengar brought technical skill and emotional involvement to the solo, adroitly matching steps to the rhythms of the accompaniment in some moments but elsewhere managing to float free of the music, her concentration taking her deeply into a world of gods, demons and miraculous transcendence. With repetitions set in a circle, the choreography let us see the movement from many angles and always made the dancer’s long, long arms look heroic if not downright supernatural.

— Lewis Segal, Los Angeles Times

This gorgeous piece with its stunning dancers in golds and mauves slowly built from intermittent foot stamps into powerful percussive hand and foot movements. The scatting Indian vocals were so rhythmic that the dancers fully expressed their entire body including eyes and eyebrows. The exquisite staging and warrior stances so clearly represented the title, “Unstoppable.”

— Joanne DiVito, LA Dance Chronicle

Opening the evening’s performance, Iyengar recognized for her daring programming danced with exuberance, invoking  Lord Shiva. Crisp, focused, energetic, she set the tone for the rest of the evening. The recital’s  dancers represented the essential structure of the Universe, the beauty of creation, the Navagraha, the myriad divinities  and the human being.

— Prem Souri Kishore, India Journal