• The dance festival was cherished by the full house audience on all the three days.
• The dance legends shared their journey of dance in a candid conversation
New Delhi, December 3, 2018: The second edition of The Natya Ballet Dance Festival organized by the Natya Ballet Centre in association with SangeetNatakAkademi (SNA) came to a close on December 2, 2018. The 3-day event at SNA premises saw a full house audience all three days, who cherished every segment of the festival. This year’s festival focussed on exploring ‘Dance in Film’ & ‘Dance in Theatre’ and showcased the best of both local and global art forms. The festival laid emphasis on the female power in dance & theatre.The festival started with a Masterclass by Ananya Chatterjee, a renowned choreographer from the USA and the Artistic Director of Ananya Dance Theatre who introduced a contemporary Indian dance technique called Yorchhā, which brings together movement principles from Odissi, Vinyasa yoga, and MayurbhanjChhau.Later, the same evening, the opening performance of the festival presented the Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust’s ‘Mahabharata’ — a contemporary retelling of the epic using a combination of the Japanese technique of Bunraku, masks and shadow theatre and along with the elements of Chhau and Kalaripayattu. Directed by Anurupa Roy, (Founder and Managing Trustee of the Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust) the hour-long enactment saw a stream of conscious narrative of the fifteen prominent characters of the Mahabharata. The performance showed how each character had an unquestioning loyalty to its belief that paved way to the battle of Kurukshetra and questioned whether there any moment where each character could have avoided the war by choosing differently.
The second day started with an insightful conversation with the legend of contemporary Indian Dance, AstadDeboo who pioneered the contemporary dance style at a time when innovation in Indian dance was not welcomed. Deboo’s talk was moderated by Dr ArshiyaSethi, a scholar, commentator, administrator, consultant and an activist in the field of art and culture. In the course of the conversation, he discussed how his style of dance has evolved during the years from learning Kathak and Kathakali, to his own unique style. He shared his story of how he taught danceto deaf artists and children of the Salaam Balak Trust giving them an opportunity to perform in public.This segment was immediately followed by a tete-a-tete between the legendary Kathak exponent PanditBirjuMaharaj and Manjari Sinha, an acclaimed musicologist and classical music and dance critic. The living legend shared his story of how he learnt Kathak, his journey and the legacy of Kathak which will be carried forward. Besides, being a maestro of Kathak, Maharajji demonstrated his prowess at playing the tabla, recited his own poetry and sang enthralling the audience.
The afternoon started with the ‘Dance in Theatre’ segment where renowned theatre artists such as Maya Krishna Rao, Vinay Kumar from Adikshakti Theatre, GowriRamnarayan and Bharatanatyam exponent JyotsnaShourie along with moderators Dr. Anita Cherian &SaumyaBaijal shared their insights on how dance and theatre blend in the work and practice.Later in the evening, audiences got to partake in two international performances, ‘We are waiting at the Border’ a confrontational public space performance by the famous Dutch dance company Vloeistof and ‘Ayush’, an amalgamation of Western dramaturgy and Kathak vocabulary directed by Leo Spreksel, Director Korzo Theatre, The Hague and performed by Hari and Chethana and Sirisha. Vloiestof has travelled across Europe and this festival served as the platform for it to premiere in India. With four dancers, three mirrors and a huge glass plate, the aim of this performance was to explore new ways to break boundaries and focus on unexpected aspects of borders.
The last day of The Natya Ballet Dance Festival commenced with a candid talk between Mallika Sarabhai, an eminent choreographer, dancer, film maker, actress, writer and social activist- who has been recognized and awarded across the world and Dr.ArshiyaSethi. This was followed by another ‘Meet the Legends’ session with Leela Samson, who is an exponent and sensitive interpreter of the nuances of Bharatanatyam. She spoke about her experience of choreographing a body of work called ‘Spanda’, 20 years ago, which is known for its innovations in Bharatanatyam till date. She also shared details on her latest production named ‘Avani- the river’. The session was moderated by Prof.Naman P. Ahuja, who is a curator of Indian art, a Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and a Co-Editor of Marg Publications.In the same afternoon, the focus shifted to ‘Dance in Film’ where award-winning filmmakers and artists SabaDewan, Justin McCarthy, SharadaRamanathan and VikramIyengar presented excerpts of their films and delved on the role of camera in dance.
The evening culminated with a powerful performance, ‘AhamSita’, directed by GowriRamnarayan of the JustUs Repertory, Chennai and performed by the renowned Bharatnatyam danseuse PriyadarsiniGovind. The act was a blend of dance, music and the spoken word and it frames five crucial moments in the life of Sita along with the other women of the Ramayana- UrmilaMandodari, Surpanakha and Ahalya.
QUOTES by FESTIVAL DIRECTORS
“It was a labour of love to bring a festival of this magnitude to the Delhi public, and a rewarding experience to witness the large turnout. Natya Ballet Centre strives to innovate, expand dialogues and boundaries within the realm of dance, which was showcased under one roof, over three days. A coming together of immense talent from different fields.”
RadhikaHoon, Chairperson, Natya Ballet Centre
“We are thrilled and humbled to see that our aim to unfold the plural discourses on dance and open up various dialogues on the shifting paradigms of performing arts has been received so well by audience and critics alike. We are looking forward to be back with our third edition in 2020, as the Natya Ballet Centre celebrates its 60th year, with international and national alliances to showcase many more inspiring artists and performances.”
Nikita Maheshwary, Creative Director, Natya Ballet Centre
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