Language of body and spirit
AMBILI RAMNATH
|
`Essence' proved that dance is the language of the body as well as the spirit.
|
FUSION: Purnima Ashok Kumar,left, and Pauline Delhomme maintained their distinct styles of dance.
`Essence,' a fusion dance production, inspired the audience to view the art of dance from a different perspective. This production was the brainchild of two young dancers - Purnima Ashok Kumar, a Bharatanatyam dancer, and Pauline Delhomme, whose forte is contemporary Western dance.
These dancers, while trying to understand the differences and nuances of the two contrasting styles, happily discovered the underlying commonality that transcends the differences. Thus was born `Essence,' an "attempt at a personal interpretation of what dance means to them in their cultural space and identity" and to experiment with the aesthetic, emotional and spiritual aspects of dance.
The 40-minute recital at the Koothambalam in Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan was presented in three segments.
The first part, a jugalbandhi of sorts, was a pure dance number set to rhythmic cycles of chathusram, khandam and tishram. Here the two dancers maintained their respective distinct styles. The second part sought to convey the joy of dancing. Lively jazz music - Perdido Street Blues by Louis Armstrong - provided the background for this piece. For the dancers, this number offered the opportunity to experiment and undergo the novel experience of dancing together, yet differently. In fact, it brought them to the threshold of possibilities.
The third segment was devoted to portraying the emotional and spiritual aspects of dance. This piece was based on the navarasas and underscored the universality of emotions.
Displaying emotions
The emotions portrayed started with anger and moved on to fear, wonder, disgust, bravery, sadness, humour, love and finally, peace, thus progressing from the negative to the positive. Abhinaya being such an intrinsic part of Bharatanatyam, this item seemed a cakewalk for Purnima, while Pauline emphasised suggestive and improvised body movements. But here too there was space for some give and take between the two styles, especially while conveying the emotions of humour (haasyam) and disgust (bheebalsam). Excellent music composed by Venu Madhav reflected the mood of each theme that was emoted and contributed to the general appeal of the piece.
It was evident that Purnima and Pauline were endowed with talent, besides their creative outlook. Lithe figures ensured agility and quick and precise movements.
Pauline is from France and has been practising dance for more than 10 years, having learnt Kathak and African dance in addition to Western contemporary dance. She has performed in several festivals in France and now choreographs her own performances. She has been living in Hyderabad during the past one year and works in the cultural section of Alliance Francaise.
Purnima Ashok Kumar, a CCRT National scholarship holder for Bharatanatyam, trains under Dr. Ananda Shankar. As a student of the Shankarananda Kalakshetra, she has had the opportunity to participate in many major dance festivals of India and was part of the cultural delegation to South America. She has also given solo performances.
Bharatanatyam is an ancient and highly stylised dance form. Yet, it was interesting to note how well it could adapt and lend itself to any theme or rhythm. But it was more interesting to note that `Essence' succeeded in conveying the message that dance is the language of the body as well as the spirit.
The recital was organised by Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum in association with the French Embassy.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
