Year of visionaries

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Beautiful imageries, fine lines, subtle nuances and much more, defined Indian dance in 2011. With new ideas brimming and finally emerging out of that creative closet to some brilliant traditional repertoire, choreography surely went a step ahead.

What was also noteworthy this year was that dancers were pushing their boundaries constantly, especially the young ones, who showed some promising work that highlighted the spirit of dance. While the legends kept re-inventing themselves, it was nice to see the young dancers come up with interesting dance productions.
Tagore tribute
The 150th birth anniversary year of the Nobel laureate and poet Rabindranath Tagore’s saw some really interesting dance productions. Astad Deboo, eminent choreographer and dancer presented his production Interpreting Tagore in November. With eight young performers accompanying him on his poetic journey — street children from the Salaam Balak Trust, enthralled the audience with beautiful juxtaposition and some martial art. The Kaali mask was a sure-shot winner. Legendary Odissi danseuse Sonal Mansingh also paid her respects to the poet through her production. Bharatnatyam exponent Anita Ratnam too choreographed an aesthetically designed offering Handful of Dust, which premiered in Kolkata. Kathak dancer Amita Dutt was also among those who choreographed a dance production Bhanusingher Padavali in April this year.
Re-visiting history
The traditional dance ballets had many classical dancers going back to our epics and seeking inspiration from mythology. Noted Mohiniattam danseuse Mandakini Trivedi explored the saga of Kunti and Karna in her dance production Prathama Kaunteya. One of the most interesting sequences about this production was the rope dance, where Trivedi incorporated a duel of sorts with the help of rope. Artist Subodh Parkar painted in the background, which brought another life to the production.
Another Mohiniattam and Bharatnatyam dancer Dr Kanak Rele presented her ballet The Enlightened One — Gautama Buddha, inspired by the latter’s ideals. The production highlighted the essence of Buddhism and had various forms of folk dances from Manipur, martial arts like Kalaripayatu and much more. Young Bharatnatyam exponent Mythili Prakash went ahead and explored the Ramayana in Sthree Katha — The Three Heroines of Ramayana, which is about the three principal women in the epic — Keikeyi, Shurpnaka and Sita.
Traditional repertoire
Madhavi Mudgal surely challenges the young dancers with her brilliant choreography and dance. Mudgal, who has an eye for aesthetics, wowed the audience with her traditional presentation of the Odissi repertoire earlier this year in Mumbai. Her rhythm and sense of music remains perfect.
Leela Samson, eminent Bharatnatyam danseuse and director of the esteemed institute Kalakshetra told us why exactly the institution is the pinnacle of excellence as she performed with her students celebrating the institute’s 75-year-old journey. Ramli Ibrahim, Odissi exponent, based in Malaysia created breathtaking visuals as he presented his dance production Vision of Forever in May this year.
Foreign influx
This year saw some quality performances by dancers from abroad, who presented some of this year’s extraordinary productions. From conceptualisation to the execution, these dancers wowed everyone with their visionary acts. Something that stood out was Nicole Seiler’s Ningyo, which questioned the idea of beauty with a metaphor like Ningyo (water fish in Japanese). One of the most outstanding aspects of the choreography was stage and light aesthetics. The pool of water on stage with various multimedia projections simply raised the bar for excellence in detailing and design. The celebrated Paul Taylor Dance Company too made a strong impact on the audience with their brilliant choreography including some sequences directed by the legendary dancer Paul Taylor himself. Well-known French contemporary dancer Jerome Bel was also in the country and enthralled with the audiences with Pichet Klunchun, a Thai traditional dancer.
Pushing boundaries
Young dancers in the country, who are managing to strike a balance between classical and contemporary, were also in spotlight this year. The Gati Dance Forum in Delhi has been doing some pathbreaking work in the field of contemporary dance. The recent Yellow Line Project showcased some innovative work and brought dance to the streets, something that was never attempted before and also experimented with screen dance residency.
The Attakalari Biennial, in Bangalore, saw some out of the box thinking in terms of creativity and presentation. Anusha Lal, Rukmini Vijaykumar, Sanjukta Wagh, Aditi Mangaldas, Navtej johar, Jyotsna B.Rao and Veena Basavarajaih are those among the artistes who have constantly strived to push their boundaries. Their visions need to be looked out for.