A feast for the senses

Attakkalari India Biennial (AIB), the international contemporary dance and movement arts festival, will be held from February 6 to 15.

It will be held at three venues across the City — Ranga Shankara, Chowdiah Memorial Hall and Alliance Française de Bangalore. The theme of this edition is ‘Dance Connect’ and in keeping with this theme, the festival will feature a host of performers and delegates from across the globe.

The opening night, to be held at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, will feature a double bill — excerpts of New Zealand artist Daniel Belton’s unique digital performance ‘TRACES’ and the TAO Dance Theater from China ensemble choreographies, 4 and 5.

While Daniel’s films are at the exciting intersection of dance and film, TAO’s trademark choreography and sparse design are poetic and immersive.

From February 7 to 15, dance enthusiasts can catch the performances of popular groups such as Alexander Whitley Dance Company (United Kingdom), which will present ‘The Measures Taken’, a globally-appreciated work marrying technology with his powerful choreography; Systeme Castafiore’s (France) Les Chants de L’Umaï which will present a solo by Marcia Barcellos; Bereishit Dance Company (Korea) and Aditi Mangaldas’ (India) Timeless.

Jayachandran Palazy, Artistic Director, Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, explains, “‘Attakkalari India Biennial’ will be inaugurated by Girish Karnad. We are organising the festival in partnership with Karnataka Tourism with support from the Department of Kannada and Culture.

We are also indebted to Mohandas Pai and Ranjan Pai for supporting the event; Ravichandran, who helped build the Attakkalari network; and Sudhakar Rao, former Chief Secretary. This is an event this city can be proud of.”

“The Biennial has come a long way since its inception and has helped in making Bengaluru the hub of conetmporay dance in South Asia.  There are more than 200 artistes participating from all over the world this time,” he notes.

“Apart from established artistes, there are young artistes and choreography residencies too. We have also brought out an online magazine called ‘Ligament’ to discuss about issues, concepts and discourses. The festival has masterclasses and filmscreenings. In short, it is a feast for the senses,” he further adds. 

Tickets are available on www.bookmyshow.com. For details, visit www.attakkalaribiennial.org