TWO dance festivals, which took place recently in Durban, presented choreographers, companies, and dancers with opportunities to shine on stage.
The first was the Washington-based Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company, who performed at the Jomba! Contemporary Dance Festival at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre.
The multi-racial dance company interrogates the relationship between Bharatha Natyam and modern dance. The organic movement that emerges is their style of contemporary Bharatha Natyam.
This hybrid form of classical dance uses a combination of jumps, lifts, leaps, and spacial awareness from ballet and modern dance, while creating lyrical movement using rhythmic footwork and hand gestures from Bharatha Natyam.
So what is the relationship between contemporary dance and Bharatha Natyam?
Both styles have stories to tell and when they come together, a new language of movement is created.
“Vasanth”, a contemporary Bharatha Natyam dance, tells the story of the Goddess of Spring, Vasantha.
Rachel Prem, a Bharatha Natyam trained dancer, played the roles of narrator and translator with Bharatha Natyam hand gestures and facial expressions for English voice-overs and Tamil lyrics.
While the multiracial dancers are trained in various dance styles, each one of them displayed a great understanding of Bharatha Natyam and their bodies spoke this classical language with devotion.
The mudras were alive, and the characterisation of Hindu deities along with the jathi speed variations (rhythmic footwork) were perfect and precise.
Dressed in Bharathanatyam costume, playing between languages of movement, the dancers’ individuality was not lost.
Expert lighting design by Todd and Lisa Mion supported the themes explored in this production.
The second festival was the Tribangi Dance Theatre’s One Spirit Dance Festival at the iZulu Theatre at Sibiya Izulu.
Tribangi’s fusion style of Bharatha Natyam brings about an awareness and understanding of cultural difference.
Artistic director Jayespri Moopen’s choreographic style uses distinct voices of traditional Zulu and Bharatha Natyam to create a new language of movement.
A tribal encounter with layered music brings the languages of dance and culture together with a fusion of costumes.
The well thought of designs found common ground for the Zulu and Indian cultures to co-exist with African fabric and Indian motifs. Two cultures, sharing one music and stage, presented the real fusion.
Moopen said the intention of the festival was to “bring dancers together to share a platform, clash, and collide artistically to make us stronger in the performing arts”.
Nine dance schools shared one stage, but only a few did justice to the opportunity given to them.
Manesh Maharaj stood out as a veteran classical dancer and choreographer, who is a master at his craft.
His putting of Kathak to a Bharatha Natyam Thillana was mesmerising. His creativity and incorporation of contemporary leg movements into Kathak footwork complemented his presentation.
The KwaMashu School of Dance/Dusi Dance company presented “Ilifa the Legacy, a contemporary dance choreographed by Vusi Makhanya.
Moving in silence with only the power of breath, the body came alive with the spirit of our ancestors.
For the progress of Bharathanatyam, the serious-minded artist must not ignore that some dancers at the festival appeared to have presented copied choreography, little or no understanding of their individual performance style/music, and limited repetitive movement , while for the few brave hearts who attempted fusion, it really looked like confusion.
Chinappan is an award-winning actress; also a radio jockey on Thamizh Osai every Sunday from 7pm-10pm on MegaZone South; a director, international artist, dance critic, speech and drama specialist, choreographer and teacher. She can be reached at [email protected]