JOIN USIn sync with himself
‘Solo for Two’ was part of the opening programme of the event in Bangalore. However, for all good things, one has to wait! The same went for this event as a formal inauguration was held with a few dignitaries taking the stage and also expressing their pleasure at the tremendous response the festival had got so far.
“It has become clear that Bangalore is the city of dance in India. So this show reflects the city of Bangalore,” said Christoph Bertrams, the director of Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, one of the organisers. Other dignitaries to address the crowd were Clas Neumann, President of Indo German Chamber of Commerce; Ingo Karsten, Consul General and Meera Saxena, the Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner of Government of Karnataka.
Post the lamp lighting session and the speeches, the stage was set and the audience anxious! First, a group of Bangalore hip-hoppers including dancers from Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, for whom Storm had earlier done a workshop, presented a dazzling show. Choreographed by Storm, the performance had a slow start. However, as it progressed, the ten young boys and girls took the audience to a different world altogether as they shook, grooved and b-boyed like there was no tomorrow.
As they lay down on stage, these dancers took individual turns to dance and showcased some of the best dance moves. Later, they stood in one straight line and once again took turns to come ahead and break into some vigorous moves! Some of them b-boyed, slid across the platform balancing themselves on their heads and even did some graceful ‘kathak’ moves in robotic fashion. All in all, they were fantastic!
However, that was not all as the ‘showstopper’ of the evening was yet to take the spotlight.
When Robitzky ‘stormed’ on stage, one thought he’d present yet another break dance.
But no! He had indeed put all his capacities as a dancer and choreographer to work as he teamed up his stage performance with his own video-projected image. He ran through traffic, hung from a skyscraper, walked into his own projection, portrayed evolution and did some amazing dances. Through pieces like ‘You are in harmony with yourself’ and ‘You are running against time’, the audience moved with him too as they were taken into the projection.
“He is absolutely out of this world,” said Nikhil, a member of the audience. “We should have artistes like him performing in the City more often,” he added.
To sum it all, the effortless moves by Storm, his perfect synchronisation with his projection behind him, the larger-than-life effects of his performance, made everyone realise why he is popularly known as ‘Storm’.