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Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Unique appeal Students of Padatik Dance Centre performing in New Delhi

The Padatik Dance Centre, Kolkata that presented its innovative choreographic works at the India Habitat Centre and the Garden of Five Senses recently, proved beyond doubt that it is seriously involved not only in imparting training in Kathak but also encourages creativity. Its director Chetna Jalan, a renowned Kathak dancer and an innovative choreographer, honed her skills at the American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco and in Stanford University. Though trained and nurtured in Kathak, Chetna’s exposure to theatre and her close encounter with Contemporary Dance, yoga and fundamental Western dance exercises has led her to seek innovations in form as well as content.

“Vividha”, presented at the Garden of Five Senses, comprised ‘Aavaahan’ the invocatory item, ‘Swa-chhand’ a group choreography showcasing Western influence with pure Kathak, ‘Rhythm Scape’, which had a confluence of Western and Indian classical music composed by Bikram Ghosh, and the concluding ‘Srishti’ with the music of Louis Banks and Pandit Birju Maharaj.

All the items had their distinctive identity and flavour. ‘Aavaahan’, presented gracefully by Ritushri Chaudhury and Suman Saha, was an invocation of space; the inner space of a performer, the earthly space to be performed in and the cosmic one.

‘Swa-chhand’ displayed the freedom of dancers to innovate in different rhythmic designs, exploring the laya and chhanda. This pure Kathak number had remarkable upaj ka kaam by dancers dancing to various chhandas (rhythmic patterns) of four, six and seven-count cycles supplementing each other and weaving the magic. It was interspersed with not only the pure Kathak sequences but also with ‘abhinaya’ ingredients like the gat bhaav and kavits. ‘Rhythm Scape’ was a duet dance of contemporary Kathak with Jazz movements which gelled well with the innovative music of Bikram Ghosh. ‘Srishti’ manifested sound, the ‘Naad-Brahma’, with various dimensions and colours, depicting unity in diversity. With music by Birju Maharaj and Louis Banks, it was choreographed by Chetna Jalan. The well trained dancers performing in amazing synchronicity were a delight to watch.

That Padatik gives a lot of encouragement and freedom to dancers is quite clear. Ritushri Chaudhury, who choreographed the invocatory item ‘Aavaahan’ and danced to the seven-matra chhand in ‘Swa-chhand’, says the students get the liberty to experiment with Kathak. But one has to be really proficient in the medium before attempting such experiments.

Ritushri agrees, saying that once one has a command over Kathak, one can do anything with it. She has used yoga and martial arts movements in her innovative choreography of ‘Aavaahan’. She has practiced yoga for a long time. Suman Saha, who danced with Ritushri in ‘Aavahan’ was originally a theatre artiste before joining Padatik. He has also learnt Kalaripayattu from Guru Gopi of Kerala and Thang-ta from Guru Nagatomba of Manipur. The martial arts inputs were provided by Suman in Ritushri’s choreography of ‘Aavaahan’. Both Ritushri and Suman feel that experiments and innovations like this are not only fun but also a way to attract youngsters who are reluctant to remain with classical dance forms like Kathak these days.

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