Passionately For Pina

It was wild and mystical at the same time. It also magically encapsulated the passion of the artist the performance was dedicated for. For Pina…, a performance in homage to the German choreographer Pina Bausch, was put together by the Bangalore-based Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts (ACMA) on February 2 at Qutb Shahi Tombs. Pina, one of the biggest names in the global contemporary dance scene, had succumbed to cancer in June 2009.

Department of Tourism, Archaeology and Museums, Government of Andhra Pradesh, collaborated with Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad in organising this site-specific promenade performance. This means that while the performers moved around utilising the space of the magnificient heritage site, in a choreography that was not confined to a stage, the audience shifted with them too.

Jayachandran Palazhy, trained at Kalakshetra, Chennai, and the London Contemporary Dance School, choreographed the performance. The theme was man-woman relationship in a contemporary context, a favourite of Pina too. Jay, also the founder of ACMA, had worked with her when she toured India.

Jay’s team of dancers, who oozed energy in every sense of the word, was a delight to watch. Like possessed spirits unconscious of their bodies, they soared far and wide. Draped in sensuous red, they illustrated perfectly how a performance that comes from the depths of artistes’ hearts can invigorate the souls of even those who are not trained in art.

The sound technology put to use was out of the world. Hyderabad has probably not seen before speakers shaped like dolphin, snail, horse and what not! Live Electronics specialists Lorenzo Brusci and Luca Cnciella created a surreal environment with their compositions and fancy gadgets. A video installation designed by Chris Zeigler formed the perfect background for the act. Particularly, the effects for the part where Jay enacted drowning were breathtaking.

The event, which was inaugurated by Information and Public Relations Minister Dr. J Geetha Reddy, also had Jayesh Ranjan IAS and Padmasri Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant as Guests of Honour. Ananda also introduced the troupe and the act to a limited but keen audience. The performance was followed by the screening of a documentary on Pina Bausch.

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.

Maya Ravan Enthralls Hyderabad

The glorious mystique of Ramayana unfolded on the dais of Ravindra Bharathi as Shobana and her Kalarpana team performed Maya Ravan on Friday, September 18. The dance musical, choreographed and directed by the veteran actress, made an earnest attempt to skim through the entire scope of Ramayana highlighting the heroism of Ravana, while maintaining a bohemian jouissance and filminess.

Shobana, of course, was the centre of attraction. Although a lack of vigour was visible in her body language, her elegant frame and graceful movements made up for it. Archana Ganesan, who played the part of Sita, earned brownie points with the audience too.

An array of gifted voices lent believability to the mythical narrative. Naseeruddin Shah as Ravan was pure delight. The subtlety with which he rendered Ravana’s passion was out of the world. The atrocious Asura who threatens Janaka to give his daughter’s hand, the coy and love-struck demon who tries desperately to allure Sita, the penanced Rakshasa who confides helplessly in Mandodari – all the moods were safe in his experienced vocal cords. Other celebrity voices that Shobana put to use include Tabu as Mandodari, Rohini as Sita, Mohan Lal as Hanuman, Suhasini as Soorpanakha, Milind Soman as Rama, and Jackie Shroff as Dasaratha.

Maya Ravan boasts of a delectable compilation of music scores for its sound track. Put together by Ganesh Kumaresh, it forms the backbone of this epic dance drama. Tunes with an Arabian hint, Kurunthurai couplets, and soundtracks from the MGR era were all used efficiently to aid the narrative. Narumugaiye from Iruvar, one of A R Rahman’s all-time-bests, used as the signature love track for Rama and Sita, Chentharmizhi from Perumazhakkalam used during the Vanvaas sequence and Chinnamma Chilakamma from Meenaxi employed when Ravana naughtily disturbs Sita in Ashokavan were some of the delightful choices the crew made.

Maya Ravan acknowledges that it is inspired by the Ramayana Series by Ashok Banker. However, one genuine complaint that can be raised is that it did not do justice to its protagonist. Ramayana has enough variations that Shobana could have used to conceptually develop Ravana more. However, she chose to stick to the safe path and did not explore the possibilities that were available to demystify him further.

There were also cries that rose from the puritans that this performance should be bracketed out from ‘art.’ The criticism mainly rose from the fact that the performance was very ‘filmy.’ However, considering that Shobana had never made a claim that it was a pure Bharatanatyam performance, this is not a sound argument.

At one point in the dance drama, Ravana tells Sita, “Dharma can be interpreted differently by different people.” Art, too, can be defined and interpreted in various ways. Puritans may not agree, but Maya Ravan was art in one of the most entertaining avatars ever!

The opulent costumes added a great deal to the visual splendour of the production. Shobana herself had seven costume changes; others also indulged quite a number of times. It was remarkable how the colours of costumes were made to match the mood of particular scenes.