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Picture of grace
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U.S.-based choreographer Dana Tai Soon Burgess and the dancers of the John Britto Company came together to present an exquisite production
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Photo: R. Ragu
MODERN MOVES At “Dance-Connect”
If he had not become a choreographer, Dana Tai Soon Burgess could have been a writer or a social scientist. The manner in which his dance pieces are structured suggests he possesses the skills of both. Based on “love, loss and joy”, the p
ieces partly reflect Dana’s life. But he enlarges these personal experiences to such an extent that they become a commentary on life itself. And in the timeless poems he uses to explain his pieces, a love for literature comes to the fore.
The Master of Ceremonies for “Dance-Connect”, where his dancers and John Britto’s came together for a grand Indo-US Production, read these out before introducing Dana’s pieces. For ‘Fractures’, created when its author was “dealing with a heartfelt separation”, Dana turned to Ben Johnson’s ‘The Hour Glass’ (Consider this small dust, here in the glass,/ By atoms moved:/ Could you believe that this the body was/ Of one that loved;/ And in his mistress’ flame playing like a fly,/ Was turned to cinders by her eye:/ Yes; and in death, as in life unblessed,/ To have it expressed,/ Even ashes of lovers find no rest.)
Dana’s themes came alive in a grand way, thanks to a corps of dancers, who, like himself, are steeped in modern dance. ‘Tracings’, which began with the projection of a ship and the photograph of his grandmother (when she was a young lady) on to a screen, had the tenor of a psycho-social drama. In graceful steps, Dana’s dancers portrayed the mind of a woman on the verge of an “arranged marriage”. She wore a mask, which she frequently removed and slipped on, and carried a suitcase, the contents of which signified memories built around her life before marriage. She was undecided on what to take from the bag. Finally, she just dropped it and left.
Dana used the picture of his grandmother who had to leave her country following her ‘arranged marriage’. The lines for this piece: “Did she simply close the door of her father’s house and walk away? And was it a long walk through the tailor shops of Pusan to the wharf where the boat waited to take her to an island whose name she had only recently learned, on whose shore a man waited... “from ‘Picture Bride’ by Cathy Song. The four-part piece ‘Chino Latino’ was about people locked away within the walls of different experiences. Dana had choreographed a few pieces with John Britto’s dancers.
Indo-US production
These pieces signified the success of an initiative called Culture- Connect. In 2006, John Britto’s Dance Company was awarded a Culture-Connect scholarship which allowed them to train and perform in the United States. The Indian group got to train with Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co, Washington DC. Since then, John Britto wanted a joint production between the two groups in Chennai. His long-cherished dream was realised when a cultural envoy programme supported by the U.S. Consulate General, Chennai, brought Dana and his dancers to the city.
The fast and furious movements in the pieces (especially ‘Energy’ which generously borrowed steps from Kalaripayattu) with John Britto’s dancers complemented the silken grace of the American dancers. Well-rounded, with significant contributions from all quarters, the production spoke of effort and ingenuity. The sparse stage took on a richness with Maja E. White’s diffused lighting, which added to the mood of the pieces.
PRINCE FREDERICK
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