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The vivid shades of dance

MEANINGFUL PERFORMANCE
Last Updated 14 November 2011, 13:41 IST
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Bangalore’s dance company Nritarutya presented ‘Mars’ and Chittara, two dances
using refreshingly new techniques.

The second half of the evening saw French hip hop choreographer, Brahim Bouchelaghem’s intense solo performance of Zahrbat, a tribute to his deceased
father.

‘Mars’ was a highly energetic acrobatic dance. Choreographed by Sathya B G, the focus lay on a giant see-saw on stage, used throughout the dance to symbolise the various levels that exist in the societal representation of man.

“The see-saw brings in a big character and shows the ups and downs in man’s life. You see life through the see-saw because it always needs two people to balance it out,” said Sathya, explaining the use of the property in his sequence.

There was also a short entertaining sequence where masks of Salman Khan, Rajnikanth, Shah Rukh Khan and other film stars were worn by the dancers to add comic value.

Chittara, meaning patterns, was a multimedia presentation where kaleidoscopic
rangoli patterns were incorporated into the dance form.

A live camera was placed above the stage and the video could be seen on a screen
behind the dancers, capturing every motif being made.

Interestingly, all the dancers wore white so that the patterns formed could be given prominence when viewed on the screen.

“The idea of the kaleidoscope was to let go as an artist and let the creative spirit take over,” said choreographer Madhuri Upadhya after the show.

“The biggest challenge was to make the dancers understand the three-dimensionality of the dance,” she added.

The last performance of the evening was the dance drama by Brahim Bouchelaghem, which heavily relied on props like playing cards, chairs and a suitcase.

He would spin on his head, go in a trance-like state flinging the cards in the air, or just push the suitcase away from a pyramid of playing cards that he built on stage.

The awestruck audience simply watched and questioned none of his movements because each move allowed the story to unfold.

“It was a tribute to my father, Zahrbat, who passed away when I was young. He used to play poker and I didn’t like that. A large part of the dance revolves around that,” said Brahim, exhausted after a 35-minute long performance that won him the standing ovation he deserved.

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(Published 14 November 2011, 13:40 IST)

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