" My heart is on fire,
In my madness I roam the desert
The flames of my passion
devour the wind and the sky"
- Jalalludin Rumi
"You will find freedom, truth, beauty, love, which are one and the same, only when you no longer seek them..Can mind exist without the movement of search?"
- J. Krishnamurti
Of the numerous quotes that greeted the audience in the aesthetically designed brochure of Aditi Mangaldas' brave and innovative production, Uncharted Seas ( presented by the Natya Ballet Centre at Kamani Auditorium recently) , the above two encapsulated the parallel points of departure, for the dancer and her Drishtikon dance foundation ( which comprises of a couple of talented dancers who carry the capacity to hold solo recitals) . More often, Aditi's understanding of Kathak borders on intensity than nuance. And her journey in the last two decades, from the moment of emotions to the moments of silence, from the moments of silence to the flashes of celebration and at present the near perfect blending of passion and wisdom, perhaps corroborates that.
Uncharted seas, swung between high tides and low tides but the moments of excellence were stored when the waters were placid. The production, in the long run, should stand out for the sensitivity towards visual aesthetics ( in lighter vein, even the musicians wore coordinated clothes!) and grandeur on one end and the ability of the dancer-choreographer to keep in check the flight of movement on the other. The beginnings and the endings of almost all the pieces ( and of the production in its totality) had a certain graph, which had a high mid point at which the physicality of Kathak dominated the abhinaya aspect, with the later half submitting itself to bhava. In a way the production worked at two levels- one at macro level, since there were no break ups and announcements through the production and two, at micro level, since though, various episodes were strung together, each had its own narrative to fall back on.
Aditi and her dancers' strength, throughout the production lay in ensuring that after displaying the virtuosity of nritya aspect, they could afford to pull the movement back, shove it to the background and reveal the essence of the piece through abhinaya. More so, in the last minutes of some sequences when the music, the sound of feet and bells, the alacrity of the hands and the intensity of the eyes, inevitably lost stream before the stillness of it all-when the eyes saw the world around, following the hands, when the splendour of the costumes- red, yellow, golden , paled before the hand held flickering flames, when the dance soaked body stood devoid of much movement, allowing the lyrics to take over and direct the choreography.
The solo-dance sequences of Aditi had an unusual pace to them and while at some places, it impacted the clarity of movement, the magic worked because of the motifs of silence that followed, sometimes unexpectedly and sometimes predictably. One could say, the aggression of dance and the joy of dance separated the fast and the slow paced sequences. And it was her talent in creating a natural link between the two, that worked at artistic and philosophic level.
Our entire journey of life surrenders to endless search for that one moment of magic, which could be anything. However, it is only when the journey inward begins that the true story is written, spoken and danced. Uncharted Seas, for this writer, couldn't be summed up in a better way.
Uncharted Seas were traversed with the help of vocal compositions of Shubha Mudgal and Anesh Pradhan. The on stage support on vocal, sarangi and harmonium by Samiullah Khan; Tabla by Yogesh Gangani, Pakhawaj by Mahaveer Gangani, was very notable. The students of Drishtikon dance foundation who performed Uncharted Seas with Aditi were, Rohit Lal, Gauri Diwakar, Rashmi Uppal, Afsar Jafar Mulla, Anindita Acharjee and Rachna Yadav.
Another Kathak recital, which, however went a bit unnoticed, was that of Prerana Deshpande and her disciples at India International Centre. Prerana, who has been a student of Dr. Rohini Bhate, scored high on two points. First, the amazing versatility she brought to her choreography, and second, the remarkable ease with which she and her students performed to the recorded music without diluting Kathak's spontaneity which is a must to make a recital successful. Be it her sensitive portrayal of the nayika in her home ( with the meaning of home personified by her body), in Kajraee Thumri or her young and petite, talented daughter Ishwari Deshpande's madhya laya teen taal, the dancer-Guru's performance had an unmistakable Bhate stamp. The use of space and the imagination to carve a Kathak choreography in diagonals and zigzag formations (and not as much in circles,squares and straight lines) was indeed commendable. Bhairavi based on the composition "Rhythmspace" by Pt. Vikram Ghosh was a memorable piece for the sheer joy with which the Guru and the students ( Prachi Natu, Ankita Ingale and Anuja Joshi) performed it.
However, one couldn't help but wonder if the Guru was promoting her talented daughter a bit unprofessionally, with her name in the handout preceded only by that of her mother and an exclusive chance to perform solo sequence in the recital, even though she is ten years old and much younger to the students who accompanied Prerana.
Last but not the least, a quick word on the festival of foreign artistes residing in India, organised by ICCR at Kamani Auditorium. Of the two performances witnessed by this writer, Isabelle Anna's Kathak recital ( disciple of Pt. Jai Kishan Maharaj) could give a cause of worry to home grown breed of dancers. Isabelle has grace and charm, a commanding stage presence and though she may need to still work on her foot work, she has an innate spontaneity of a veteran. Her ability to hold the audience, understand the use of space, and emote rather maturely the feelings of Kandita nayika in thumri, "Kayo ko mere ghar ayo" more than made up for a slightly weaker jugalbandi that followed the number.
Though, it was a week dominated by Kathak, one was lucky to witness the Odissi recital of Masako Ono, the talented and dedicated Japanese (who is following the footsteps Bharatanatyam dancer Izumi Sato, another known Japanese face in Indian dance circuit) dancer on the inaugural day of the ICCR festival. Odissi being a dance form rich in lasya is usually said to be a tough dance form for foreigners because of the angular body positions and movements, with its typical tribhanga positions.Though Masako does not have natural advantage of having a body suited for the dance form, her unassuming grace and unrestrained vigour, in parts, especially during Shiva Panchakriti Mantra made her recital an interesting visual experience. Not to forget, her convincing interpretation of a Haiku through movement.Even though, the acoustics were in bad shape on the first day and there was a faux pas at the time of inauguration, the festival did define India- At home in the world!
In my madness I roam the desert
The flames of my passion
devour the wind and the sky"
- Jalalludin Rumi
"You will find freedom, truth, beauty, love, which are one and the same, only when you no longer seek them..Can mind exist without the movement of search?"
- J. Krishnamurti
Of the numerous quotes that greeted the audience in the aesthetically designed brochure of Aditi Mangaldas' brave and innovative production, Uncharted Seas ( presented by the Natya Ballet Centre at Kamani Auditorium recently) , the above two encapsulated the parallel points of departure, for the dancer and her Drishtikon dance foundation ( which comprises of a couple of talented dancers who carry the capacity to hold solo recitals) . More often, Aditi's understanding of Kathak borders on intensity than nuance. And her journey in the last two decades, from the moment of emotions to the moments of silence, from the moments of silence to the flashes of celebration and at present the near perfect blending of passion and wisdom, perhaps corroborates that.
Uncharted seas, swung between high tides and low tides but the moments of excellence were stored when the waters were placid. The production, in the long run, should stand out for the sensitivity towards visual aesthetics ( in lighter vein, even the musicians wore coordinated clothes!) and grandeur on one end and the ability of the dancer-choreographer to keep in check the flight of movement on the other. The beginnings and the endings of almost all the pieces ( and of the production in its totality) had a certain graph, which had a high mid point at which the physicality of Kathak dominated the abhinaya aspect, with the later half submitting itself to bhava. In a way the production worked at two levels- one at macro level, since there were no break ups and announcements through the production and two, at micro level, since though, various episodes were strung together, each had its own narrative to fall back on.
Aditi and her dancers' strength, throughout the production lay in ensuring that after displaying the virtuosity of nritya aspect, they could afford to pull the movement back, shove it to the background and reveal the essence of the piece through abhinaya. More so, in the last minutes of some sequences when the music, the sound of feet and bells, the alacrity of the hands and the intensity of the eyes, inevitably lost stream before the stillness of it all-when the eyes saw the world around, following the hands, when the splendour of the costumes- red, yellow, golden , paled before the hand held flickering flames, when the dance soaked body stood devoid of much movement, allowing the lyrics to take over and direct the choreography.
The solo-dance sequences of Aditi had an unusual pace to them and while at some places, it impacted the clarity of movement, the magic worked because of the motifs of silence that followed, sometimes unexpectedly and sometimes predictably. One could say, the aggression of dance and the joy of dance separated the fast and the slow paced sequences. And it was her talent in creating a natural link between the two, that worked at artistic and philosophic level.
Our entire journey of life surrenders to endless search for that one moment of magic, which could be anything. However, it is only when the journey inward begins that the true story is written, spoken and danced. Uncharted Seas, for this writer, couldn't be summed up in a better way.
Uncharted Seas were traversed with the help of vocal compositions of Shubha Mudgal and Anesh Pradhan. The on stage support on vocal, sarangi and harmonium by Samiullah Khan; Tabla by Yogesh Gangani, Pakhawaj by Mahaveer Gangani, was very notable. The students of Drishtikon dance foundation who performed Uncharted Seas with Aditi were, Rohit Lal, Gauri Diwakar, Rashmi Uppal, Afsar Jafar Mulla, Anindita Acharjee and Rachna Yadav.
Another Kathak recital, which, however went a bit unnoticed, was that of Prerana Deshpande and her disciples at India International Centre. Prerana, who has been a student of Dr. Rohini Bhate, scored high on two points. First, the amazing versatility she brought to her choreography, and second, the remarkable ease with which she and her students performed to the recorded music without diluting Kathak's spontaneity which is a must to make a recital successful. Be it her sensitive portrayal of the nayika in her home ( with the meaning of home personified by her body), in Kajraee Thumri or her young and petite, talented daughter Ishwari Deshpande's madhya laya teen taal, the dancer-Guru's performance had an unmistakable Bhate stamp. The use of space and the imagination to carve a Kathak choreography in diagonals and zigzag formations (and not as much in circles,squares and straight lines) was indeed commendable. Bhairavi based on the composition "Rhythmspace" by Pt. Vikram Ghosh was a memorable piece for the sheer joy with which the Guru and the students ( Prachi Natu, Ankita Ingale and Anuja Joshi) performed it.
However, one couldn't help but wonder if the Guru was promoting her talented daughter a bit unprofessionally, with her name in the handout preceded only by that of her mother and an exclusive chance to perform solo sequence in the recital, even though she is ten years old and much younger to the students who accompanied Prerana.
Last but not the least, a quick word on the festival of foreign artistes residing in India, organised by ICCR at Kamani Auditorium. Of the two performances witnessed by this writer, Isabelle Anna's Kathak recital ( disciple of Pt. Jai Kishan Maharaj) could give a cause of worry to home grown breed of dancers. Isabelle has grace and charm, a commanding stage presence and though she may need to still work on her foot work, she has an innate spontaneity of a veteran. Her ability to hold the audience, understand the use of space, and emote rather maturely the feelings of Kandita nayika in thumri, "Kayo ko mere ghar ayo" more than made up for a slightly weaker jugalbandi that followed the number.
Though, it was a week dominated by Kathak, one was lucky to witness the Odissi recital of Masako Ono, the talented and dedicated Japanese (who is following the footsteps Bharatanatyam dancer Izumi Sato, another known Japanese face in Indian dance circuit) dancer on the inaugural day of the ICCR festival. Odissi being a dance form rich in lasya is usually said to be a tough dance form for foreigners because of the angular body positions and movements, with its typical tribhanga positions.Though Masako does not have natural advantage of having a body suited for the dance form, her unassuming grace and unrestrained vigour, in parts, especially during Shiva Panchakriti Mantra made her recital an interesting visual experience. Not to forget, her convincing interpretation of a Haiku through movement.Even though, the acoustics were in bad shape on the first day and there was a faux pas at the time of inauguration, the festival did define India- At home in the world!
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