Two eras on stage
Face to Face’, a unique production was performed at Khicha Auditorium, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, by the dancers of ‘Jyotsna Shourie’s Dance Centre’, recently.
The ornate stage, the foggy effects and the changing lighting added to the magical evening. The graceful performance with the interesting concept left the crowd highly impressed.
‘Face to Face’, an attempt to compare and bring together two mythological characters, was presented in such a way as to have relevance in today’s times. Jyotsna brought together two iconic women, Sita and Draupadi on the same stage.
The dance performance represented Draupadi as the multi-faceted beauty, who could be fiery or compassionate, according to the situations and Sita, an embodiment of loyalty and courage, yet having powerful inner strength.
Jyotsna, who conceptualised, and choreographed for ‘Face to Face’ said, “It would be wrong to say, as some would, that Sita was more submissive and Draupadi more aggressive.
Sita was born in an earlier age when idealism prevailed, and Draupadi in a later one, when adharmic methods were used to meet one’s goals. Their personalities were moulded by the times in which they lived. “‘Face to Face’ is a fragment of their story, with an English narrative that reaches out to everyone,” said Jyotsna.
The dancers that performed were Nandita Kalaan, Aneesha Grover, Ishita Matharu, Sana Hasan and Abhimanyu Sharma. The music for the production was composed and sung by veteran Carnatic vocalist O S Arun, and the voice-over was done by Aftab Seth, Sharmila Livingston, and Jyotsna Shourie.
Dancer Vani Ganapathy said, “There were many aspects of the show that I was impressed with, including how each of the performers had such emotions on their faces. It was really nice to see so many people from the City here, to encourage them.”
Seetha Goswamy, a member of the audience said, “The concept was very interesting. To see how Jyotsna had brought both Sita and Draupadi, from two different eras, together, was fascinating.”
