Tour De Force

‘‘It started accidentally when my friend Zareen Chaudhari—artistic director of a deaf theatre company, Action Players, in Kolkata—invited me to do a workshop,’’ says Deboo. ‘‘They were so hardworking and dedicated, that whenever I’d get some free time I would conduct workshops with them.’’ In 1994, these led to Dancing Dolphins, his first full-scale production with the deaf. Eleven years later, India’s pioneer in modern dance has not only devised his own method of working with deaf performers, but has toured the world with them.

One recent honour came in January, when Contraposition, with students from the Clarke School for the Deaf, was invited to perform at the opening ceremony of the Deaf Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.

‘‘It was a fantastic experience and great exposure for the children,’’ says Deboo, who has been working with the Chennai school for the last three years.

An incessant traveller, Deboo’s work with deaf performers in the world’s largest centre for the deaf in Washington DC’s Gallaudet University, and other solo performances in Europe, Central America and Southeast Asia, leaves him only four to six months in India. Currently, he’s back to tour Contraposition in India and abroad.

Starting with performances in Mumbai, the show—which also includes live performances by composer-musician Amit Heri—will tour Singapore and Malaysia in October and other Indian cities including Chennai, Kolkata and Bhubaneshwar.

‘‘It always starts with a series of workshops that give me an opportunity to assess the students and for them to get used to the way I work,’’ says the globetrotter. ‘‘This time, it was particularly exciting as all the girls are trained Bharatanatyam dancers.’’

For Deboo, it’s a challenge to get them to break out of the set parameters of Bharatanatyam and incorporate his diverse styles, which range from Kathakali to modern dance. ‘‘Once they warmed up to it, they would come forward with ideas when I’d get stuck, ’’ he says excitedly.

Heri remembers the first time he saw Deboo perform. ‘‘After the show I told him I had to meet him and offered to compose music for him.’’ So when Deboo approached him last year, he jumped at the opportunity. ‘‘It was very easy working with Deboo and since the show is based on the navrasa or nine emotions, it’s quite self-explanatory. The only thing to keep in mind was that the girls would be responding to the vibrations of the sound,’’ adds the composer of Morning Raga.

But when Heri composed a four-minute track on fear, Deboo wasn’t sure if his students would be able to dance to it. ‘‘The beat was fast, but I really liked the track. So I took it up as a challenge, and they managed beautifully,’’ says Deboo.

‘‘He is an outstanding performer. His shows are always a spectacle, every aspect is so well thought out,’’ says dancer Daksha Sheth.

So, how does he do it? How does he manage to be production manager, director, choreographer and still go up on stage as the star of the show? It’s the reply you’d expect: ‘‘I’m still a performer first.’’

(Catch the show at the Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai, from September 27-29)