When east met west
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Purnima Ashok Kumar and Pauline Delhomme's performance made use of an eclectic mix of music
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Photo: Satish. H
IN SYNC Purnima and Pauline at their dance performance
Nothing described the dance performance by Purnima Ashok Kumar and Pauline Delhomme better than the words `fusion' or `an amalgam of two cultures.' `Essence,' the performance by Purnima and Pauline, a Bharatanatyam and Western contemporary dancer respectively, combined both these dance forms flawlessly in one recital last Saturday.
Ananda Shankar, who began with a welcome note, described the beginning of `Essence.' Pauline saw one of her shows and approached her, asking if she could work with her. Ananda chose senior disciple Purnima to work on a project and the result was the vibrant and energetic event titled `Essence.' Held at the NIFT auditorium, the event was conducted by the Alliance Française of Hyderabad, and the French Embassy in India, in association with Shankarananda Kalakshetra. Incidentally, Purnima has been a disciple of danseuse Ananda Shankar Jayant since the last 12 years.
Both the dancers are young and their performance was full of energy. Pauline is a 22-year-old French student who is involved with the cultural department of the Alliance, while Purnima is a student of St Francis Degree College and most naturally, their energies and the rapport they shared reproduced well onstage. Pauline has been a part of many stage events in France but this kind of an arrangement was a first for her. At times, especially when both had to dance to music that leaned towards Indian classical, she seemed a bit dazed. unenthused
The first half of the event was a combination, with both dancers dancing to music from two different genres- Indian classical and jazz. Purnima is a talented dancer and her footwork didn't seem out of place even when she danced to the jazz music. The method with which she adapted her dance movements, facial; expressions and gestures even to the jazzmusic is commendable.
The second half of the recital had the duo perform the Navarasa. The navarasa corresponds to the nine main human emotions, namely Shringara (love) haasya (laughter), karuna (compassion), roudra (nager), veera (courage), bhayanka (fear), bheebhatsya (disgust), adhbuha (amazement) and shantaa (peace). Each emotion was described for a few minutes by both dancers. While Purnima did her Bharatanatyam, Pauline did free form dance and jazz movements. For parts of many of the rasas, the girls synchronised their steps and did similar movements in their respective styles. The music for both parts was composed and put together by Venu Madhav. The acoustics and the lighting complemented the event as well. A large part of the audience comprised of the expat crowd, who cheered on Pauline as much as they did Purnima. The performance ended with a namaskaram, followed by a vote of thanks by Purnima and Pauline.
RENUKA VIJAY KUMAR
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