Step Ahead

a journey,rather than an end in itself. “A mélange of classical dance with a storyline rooted in timelessness makes this presentation unique in the arena of dance,music,or theatre,” admits Sastry,who has presented the ballet in the US and Europe and now brings it to Chandigarh. The voice-overs will help the audience understand what’s happening on stage,while theatrical props,soundtrack by composer Rajkumar Bharathi and his use of an orchestra of master performers will narrate an untold story.

Reaching out to new and diverse audiences around the globe,using the age-old tradition of Bharatnatyam in a novel and compelling manner,feels Sastry,is a way to keep an art alive as well as “improvise judiciously”. The success of her dance ballet Music Within in 2010,which was presented in four continents and over a dozen countries,proved that a different story told through the medium of Bharatnatyam,draws an audience that ranges from connoisseurs to novices. It then transcends the barriers of age,gender and nationalities,she feels. “The effort is to steer away from mythological stories,which have been told over and over again and which the audience is bored of. Classical idiom doesn’t have to be limited. There is an incredible amount of creativity that can be explored,without compromising upon the aesthetics and classicism of this art form,” says Sastry as she recalls how a viewer described her ballet as watching a movie.

Over the last couple of months,Chandigarh audiences have been treated to performances by many classical dancers who are creating a new language and idiom with absorbing elements. Among them is Kathak and Bharatnatyam dancer Rajshree Shirke who along with her troupe presented her art form,Rangnritya,which she has created by merging influences of temple art,performances in Mughal courts and dance and theatre traditions of different regions. Mahesh Elkunchwar’s play Pratibimb,Tagore’s story Khata,India’s struggle for freedom and 26/11 attacks in Mumbai — Shirke’s productions draw references from both the past and the present. “Our body is the vehicle for performance and we tell our story in motion,” feels Shirke,also a theatre director and choreographer. Constantly searching for texts that have a contemporary theme,but are open to performance,Shirke says,“katha and abhinaya both are important.”

Agrees Kathak danseuse and choreographer Aditi Mangaldas,the artistic director and principal dancer of Drishtikon Dance Foundation,Delhi. The dancer works with the traditional repertoire of Kathak,infusing it with modern sensibility. In the city for a performance titled Uncharted Seas,for Mangaldas,dance is a process of transformation,and not translation. It draws inspiration from images,poetry,literature,society and uses space,light,moods,rhythms of nature and abstractions to create a dance form which is rejuvenating. All our traditions,reflects the dancer,are like a river,always flowing. “Kathak too is fluid,and imbibes the influences of the changing era,” says the dancer,absolutely ecstatic to be part of the Edinburgh International Festival,and present an extract from Uncharted Seas and Timeless,a new contemporary movement vocabulary she has created.