New steps, ancient rhythms
MADHURIMA DATTA
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Nirupama and Rajendra believe in seamless innovation of the basic grammar of dance
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CREATIVE EXPRESSIONSDancers Nirupama and Rajendra say that artistic restlessness prods them into experimentation
It is often said that the only permanent thing in life is change. But the dancer-duo Nirupama and Rajendra beg to differ. They, instead, prefer to use the word evolve. "What has been taught to us by our teachers is like grammar. Based on that, we make our own sentences to communicate coherently," says Nirupama. This Bangalore-based husband-wife duo, who have specialised in two major classical dance styles, Bharatanatya and Kathak and also in dance choreography, have created works that fuse styles from ethnic to modern featuring creative expressions from Indian classical to the contemporary. Artistic restlessness, they say, prods them into experimentation with different moves and music styles. "Finally, it is an outburst of energy and joy when you are communicating through your dance."
Packaging
One cannot really afford to turn a blind eye to the fast changing lifestyle and emerging technologies that one is part of today. "It is an age of packaging and presentation," observes Nirupama.
"Artistes should have the courage and skill to develop the art form and give it various other shades and dimensions keeping the spirit intact. Our performances blend the beauty and spirit of classical Indian dance aesthetics with state-of-the-art techniques as we aim to make them accessible, enjoyable, inspiring and at the same time entertaining to the widest possible audience."
The experimentation in their case has been with the choreography, music and costumes though the theme still largely revolves around stories of the gods and goddesses.
One of Nirupama's presentations that took place a couple of days ago for the Drishti Art Foundation's Dance festival was Laasya Ranjini — an enchanting new venture that featured three sequences with original scores specially composed and recorded, and new choreography combining karanas and adavus of Bharatanatya along with innovative Aharya. "The contemporary dance form requires far more detailing in terms of music and choreography than what was originally required in the traditional dance forms.
Where earlier one could record around eight songs in one hour for a single performance, it takes us three days to work on a ten-minute piece of music. That is the level of detailing that we are talking of," says Rajendra. "One cannot treat music and dance separately," adds Nirupama, who sees dance as an extension of music. She believes every school should teach children dance along with music.
No threat
The duo feel that the cultural identity of the country will not change despite indications in that direction. "Not in the least. It's not an identity that was established yesterday.
Our cultural ethos has survived the British and the Mughal impacts and can never extinguish. In the hands of good artistes it will surely evolve. Only when faced by rigidity and mediocrity will it die a natural death."
Nirupama and Rajendra further remark that choreography and culture are bound together. "Our cultural identity lies in the spirit, the power, the style and the passion which need to be restored. In fact, it is through this flexibility in our choreography that we are now able to reach out to a greater audience across the globe and across age groups.
An extraordinary range of music from Indian classical to contemporary (a fusion of Indian, jazz, Spanish and world music) is what we use in our dance. So, not only do they get to know of our ravishing culture, but that we are abreast with the latest in light and sound techniques. We take pride in presenting our Indian culture in style!"
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