Mayakkam Oxymore Takes Hyderabad By Surprise

It was indeed surprising - a very pleasant one; for it is not something that Hyderabad has ever witnessed before. Non conformist dance interwoven with magnificent use of light and sound resulting in 90 minutes of pure magic – that was Mayakkam Oxymore in one line for you.

Sangeeta Isvaran, the lead dancer and choreographer combined her expertise in Bharatanatyam with some street style and finished it with some fine ballet moves too. Sangeeta, an alumnus of Sarojini Naidu School of Performing Arts, UoH, respects tradition. “But classical forms have to grow and be connected with society,” she said. Her co-dancers Lakshya Rajesh, Thilagavathi Palani and Nancy Boissel complemented her perfectly in the dramatic journey that ventured to explore the feminine self.

The world famous hip hop graffiti artist Marko 93 painted the stage with multiple hues as the dancers performed. This style, which puts to use coloured LED bulbs and wands, was developed by Marko himself. The real time projection of lights mixed with the images on the screen and the performers on the stage produce a splendid effect of optic dynamics.

Cyrille Brissot loves rendering music through computer. His addiction with technology came live on stage when he produced an array of sounds that was far from the soothing dance accompaniments that we are used to. Mind you, it was not a playback of a pre-recorded piece. They were reactive sounds produced live based on expressions of dancers who often improvised while on stage. He is also the one who co-ordinated Marko’s light, Sangeeta’s moves and his sounds by switching among multiple softwares, cameras and consoles.

Mayakkam was performed at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre on 14^th January in connection with Bonjour India. It is a festival organised by France across Indian cities from December through February to reaffirm its friendship through cultural association.

Many among the audience were heard saying that the performance was highly abstract and confusing. It is bound to happen because, as a city, we are only waking up to alternate forms of entertainment. But if the instinct to deconstruct and demystify is kept aside, nobody would have a disagreement on the awe they experienced through the performance.