Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
Mind spaces for breaking free
|
The Facets 2004 international choreography laboratory is a step towards forging cross-cultural identities
|
Defying definitions of dance
HUMAN FORMS on the floor lock around each other, their limbs so enmeshed that a visual disengagement of individuals is virtually impossible. They writhe, they seethe, they grip, and then hold, creating tenuous balances. The air breathes aloud with sounds of struggle. Suddenly, an individual freezes in mid-lock, mid-movement, and then breaks free. Has the law of the jungle come to roost on the human plane?
Tantalizingly its potential has, at the ongoing Facets 2004 international choreography laboratory at the Ecumenical Christian Centre (ECC) at Whitefield from January 11 to 31. Initiated by the local Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, these glimpses stem from a session facilitated by German movement artist Christopher Lechner, who spent over a decade with the Stuttgart Ballet before opting for an exploratory internal journey, away from performance spaces via yoga, gyrotonics, and contact improvisation.
"When an animal is attacked by a stronger creature, it squeezes itself into a position from where it can disengage itself," Christopher points out. Around him, some of the workshop's 33 participants from India, Norway, Japan, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Hungary, the US, and the UK — including dancers, choreographers, lighting designers, digital or sound artists — stretch, bend, then laugh aloud from the unusual experience that flexes their definitions of dance. In an adjacent space, other youthful movers and shakers of the dance world try advanced Kalaripayittu with G. Satyanarayanan, from the Trivandrum-based gurukula of C.V.N. Kalari.
When Facets 2002 first came to town, British dancer Fleur Derbyshire felt that it "established a context for global artists, who can easily cross physical boundaries and exchange cultures and friendships." What's different now? "In 2002, every participant could try a project. This time, chosen workshop initiators can follow through on selected ideas," explains Attakkalari director Jayachandran Palazhy. "This is a good platform for ideas, free of performance pressure." At the laboratory's Open Day, from 6.30 p.m. onwards on January 29 and 30, what radical ideas might shake the ground beneath our feet? UK-based Michelle would like to experiment with large sweeps of movement against scenic projections from her travels in Mongolia. Kenneth from Norway chooses to choreographically satirise the rise of fascism or nationalism, inspired by the novel Salamander, rendered through the reptilian spine movements of three Attakkalari female dancers. Over three weeks, participants might jettison movement preconceptions through interaction with the course's unusual facilitators, such as Christopher. Or philosophical media artist Kunihiko Matsuo of Tokyo's Nest artists' collective, who shares insights into its unique process of non-auteur creative collaboration, initiated during its 1998 `Circulation Module' project. Or collaboration artist Margie Medlin from Melbourne, who initiates offbeat pathways to link design and choreography amidst the workshop's shared sense of idea and spirit. Or British visual artist Allan Parker, who opens doors to possibilities for the co-existence of visual cultures within choreography.
British electro-acoustic composer Cathy Lane, who's back as a Facets facilitator after two years, muses aloud about its potential, "For me, it's exciting to meet non-European facilitators this time... and to develop an awareness of technical possibilities." Meanwhile, Jon Petter plays his steel flute spontaneously at Christopher's contact improvisation class, accompanied by local pony-tailed percussionist extraordinary V. Ashok Kumar. "Facets has so many possibilities on offer," observes Jon, adding, "If only local multinational companies would understand the necessity to fund this experiment."
Was funding the lab tough? "In India, we don't have an infrastructure to support an investment in ideas," stresses Jayachandran. "To most corporate sponsors, it is not a priority unless it provides immediate, tangible results."
Yet, as Swiss lighting designer Daniela Zehnder explores cross-media potential, as Christopher taps into latent body power, dance transcends the traditional and the hidebound at Facets 2004. Beyond temple-rooted movements, choreographic ideas leap into the air, young blood strives towards redefinitions, and intangible cross-cultural identities beckon. Will the Open Day reveal reconstructions from the cultural debris of our collective dance past?
ADITI DE
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
|
