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one appreciated the neatly held chauka and tribhangi in Kiran Segal’s disciples

frozen momentsBhoomika dancers perform “Cranes”, a choreographic work of Narendra Sharma.

One stroke of destiny and an event that should have seen Narendra Sharma’s participation turned into a three-day homage to this departed soul. But at the Sahitya Kala Parishad’s annual Uday Shankar Festival at the Shri Ram Centre, the stunned Bhoomika dancers did their master proud as the festival began with Sharma’s signature production “Cranes”. The frozen moments with just hands sticking out in various directions to show cranes in cluster must have been conceived after hours of watching nature — so powerfully characteristic of reality are they. In the biting cold,despite the long wait for the chief guest, the dancers in skimpy costumes managed to render the item without faltering.

“Kalki Priteeksha Mein” was in the Narendra Sharma mode. The props becoming part of the dance line and geometry, the flags swaying to rhythm and the use of the Chhau leg movements in many areas with the constantly moving figures evoking revolt, bondage, violence and peace in turn were all there. Particularly moving was the film projection of Sharma performing the role of the harbinger of peace and non violence, in his patented costume of a long Tagore-type gown. There was immediacy in the film, seemingly moving towards one — so real was the image. Full marks to whatever Bharat Sharma managed by way of treating the film! The music was a mixture of sounds to suit each mood. That the dancers were all high on emotion could be sensed from the final introduction. Kathak by Rajinder Gangani and troupe on the second day took too much time in a solo by Gangani which had its moments.

The last day’s Odissi by Kiran Segal and troupe began with Mangalacharan called Divya Kundala with Shivastuti, where Balakrishna Das’s music could have been sung with more power on the tape. But one appreciated the neatly held chauka and tribhangi in the disciples who danced with perfect technique with well-held poses, and the concluding nritta segment before trikhandi pranaam was well done.

Kiran’s solo in the interpretative Oriya song “Bato Chhado” in her choreography knitting fleeting nritta flourishes in between the sahitya parts, and her subtle and convincing abhinaya made one of the finest representations of this item. Krishna’s waylaying of Radha, drawing out mixed responses of irritation even while desiring the exchange to continue, pride as Rishabhanu’s daughter telling tales of in-laws finding fault with her, were all conveyed in a compelling rendition. Both Agni symbolising women’s protest at suffering and their determination to carve out a space for themselves in life, and the starkly simple formal structure of the earlier item where parts remained separate and also became part of one unified entirety, showed Kiran’s approach to ensemble work, neat and clear in outline.

The same unhurried treatment was seen in Talankhia, danced to the slow unstructured singing of Dhrupad with the rhythmic pulse provided by a variety of percussion instruments, with dancers in a group doing movements starting with very simple rhythm, the rhythm-scape gradually expanding in variety and speed with the dance concluding with aerial patterns traced by lamps held in the hands of the dancers.

While one cannot comment on the abhinaya prowess of the dancers on the basis of what was shown, one must commend the excellent grasp of technique and the clean dancing.

Meanwhile on the same days, at the Triveni, Ileana Citaristi presented her works of choreography — ensemble and solo. The first evening was marred by smudged musical support, the singing by Ghanashyam Panda very indifferent with pakhawaj and other instruments too loud. In the traditionally patterned works like Dasha Mahavidya and Shivashtakam, Ileana’s fulsome approach to choreography gives a cluttered look with no clear definition of patterning because of the lack of silences which can ultimately highlight the articulated moments. Ileana’s male partner Saswat Joshi is a good dancer but rather heavy-footed and he tends to exaggerate his abhinaya as Arjuna in Chitrangada and Krishna in Madhur Bachana.

Where Ileana really scores is in rare works like Ganga Yamuna (where she and Saswat team well) and Saraha (with excellent costumes) where the fresh approach with Chhau-inspired movements makes for very imaginative choreography.

Ileana and partner need to coordinate better their foot-contact rhythm. With recorded music, the group was better off, though the singing in Saraha fell short of the music designing by Anwar Khurshid.

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