Just published in the June issue of India Currents!
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| Vishwa Shanthi Dancers World Arts West |
What does it mean to be part
of the 2012 Ethnic Dance Festival in San Francisco? “Being chosen for an encore is strong validation and very
special” replies Shreelata Suresh, Artistic Director and Choreographer for
Vishwa Shanthi Dance Academy.
Hundreds of companies auditioned for the opportunity to dance in the
festival, and only thirty companies were chosen. For Charlotte Moraga, Chhandam Youth Dance Company Director,
it’s an exciting challenge, “the most dancers, the youngest dancers, and the
most challenging piece yet to be shown by us at the Ethnic Dance
Festival.” This year’s festival
highlights companies with the greatest critical acclaim from previous seasons.
“We were lucky to be selected for the 2011 festival for this very item, and
they are inviting us back,” says Rasika Kumar, Choreographer for Abhinaya Dance
Company.
This year Vishwa Shanthi
Dance Academy in San Mateo is presenting a piece entitled “Poorthi” or
“Fulfillment.” Suresh explains,
“at Vishwa Shanthi we promote the tradition that Bharatanatyam is a form of
worship of the divine as was the case thousands of years ago.” “Poorthi” is inspired by the 12th
century ruler of Karnataka, and the dance tells the story of his wife, Shatala
Devi. She offers her dance to
Vishnu and Shiva in the king’s incomplete dance hall, awakening nine stone
sculptures into dance. At the
conclusion of the performance the queen becomes the tenth sculpture, completing
the temple. Suresh was impressed
by the queen’s devotion and “the exquisite sculptures in Indian temples… I have incorporated many poses in the
choreography.” She has created
flowing, dynamic formations that unfurl the story on stage before the
audience. When “the queen finishes
the performance by becoming the tenth sculpture… [it] signifies complete
surrender and reunification of her soul with the divine.”
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| Chhandam Dancer World Arts West |
The Chhandam Youth Dance
Company in San Francisco is performing a world premier at the festival with
twenty-eight dancers between the age of 8 and 17. The inspiration for this Kathak piece was playing with
rhythm and taal. Moraga reveals
that the first half of the performance was inspired by a Sunday session between
Pandit Chitresh Das and the youth company, “he asked them to play manjira and
recite the teental theka while they did this incredibly fast and complicated
footwork… he added some choreography that included movement across the stage
and voila, we’ve got an incredibly dynamic piece, all a capella.” The dancers sing, play manjira, and
dance simultaneously, controlling the tempo while coordinating as a group. The second half of the piece features a
short tarana in Raag Malkauns.
Moraga explains the purpose of her choreography, “giving… [the dancers]
something that is meaningful and motivating to them and at the same time
preserving the traditional and connecting them to the essence of Kathak.”
The Abhinaya Dance Company
in San Jose is presenting a joint piece with San Jose Taiko entitled
“Synergy.” Kumar describes it as
“a lively conversation between Abhinaya’s Bharatanatyam dancers and San Jose
Taiko’s performers… we play with several rhythms, exchanging moves and ideas
all the while staying true to our respective genres.” The resulting choreography is not fusion, but a conversation
between two art forms. Working
closely with Franco Imperial, Artistic Director of San Jose Taiko, Kumar
explores rhythmic patters common to both Bharatanatyam and Taiko. “The inspiration behind this item was a
vision of Taiko performers awakening dancing spirits with their drums. The drum sounds and the dancers are
then linked from the very beginning and there is an element of playfulness and
whimsy that pervades the piece.”
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| Abhinaya and San Jose Taiko World Arts West |
The preparation for all
three dance companies is intense.
As Pandit Chitresh Das says, “freedom comes from refined discipline with
responsibility.” Kumar stresses,
“it’s very important to me that all the dancers not only perform the movements
in synchronization but also that they embody the spirit of the item in their
dance… that playfulness and lightness.”
Suresh explains, “the audience should look for clean lines formed by the
limbs and bodies of the dancers, the symmetry of the dancers matching the
mathematical patterns of the drum beats, and the joy with which we will be
dancing.” This disciple and
devotion, Suresh believes, results in not only flawless performances but also
personal development. “After years
of intense practice, the student discovers the dancer within herself. The complete surrender of the artist to
the art brings immense joy.”
Moraga concurs, “it’s a vehicle for self-expression and experiencing
ultimate joy… Pandit Chitresh Das has a saying, ‘Kathak is like an eight-course
Bengali meal. Bollywood is potato
chips.’ The world can appreciate
and relate to Bollywood, but Kathak can be just as exciting and entertaining,
and people should understand what goes into a classical art.” During this Ethnic Dance Festival it’s
clearly time to leave the potato chips in the bag and experience the discipline
and exhilaration of three Indian dance companies committed to artistic
tradition.
All performances at the
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Tickets start at $18
Chhandam Youth Dance Company
June 16 at 3pm and 8pm, June
17 at 3pm
Vishwa Shanthi
Dance Academy
June 23 at 3pm and 8pm, June 24 at
3pm
Abhinaya Dance Company
June 30 at 3pm and 8pm, July 1 at
3pm
