Different styles share a stage

Interesting Concept

Chalana 13: Dance for a Cause’, organised by Rhythmotion, was held recently at Alliance Francaise. The venue was brimming with people.

There was a lot of excitement as proud families and friends of the performers clicked photographs and cheered after every performance. The different pieces, which consisted of both classical and contemporary performances, showcased young talent and the effort put into each item could be clearly seen.

The evening’s performance started with an oral recital of Shiva Shloka, followed by the Asamyutha hastas and Samyutha hastas. After this was a Ganapati Stuti on Jaya Jaya Sura Vara Poojita in kathak style. The programme progressed to Tishra Alarippu, a traditional piece performed at the beginning of a bharatanatyam performance. This was followed by Saraswati Vandana along with a bhajan in kathak style, a piece about Lord Krishna and his antics; Idadu Padam Tooki, a kriti in praise of Lord Shiva; Ashtamangal Taal, a nritta piece set to an 11-beat cycle and a devaranama in bharatanatyam style.

The evening also saw contemporary pieces like Shades of White, a piece about rediscovering new and different things in one’s bodies; ‘Movement of Tiny Kingdom’, which was a piece inspired by the movement of children when they are on their own and playing with their peers and ‘Don’t Forget to Breathe!!’, a piece reminding one to just breathe, despite the good and bad times in life. ‘Hello Bengaluru!’, a piece about how one still lives Bangalore despite the changes in the City, was another interesting performance.

Both the solo and group pieces were equally appreciated by all. Anuradha Gangotri, a dance performer, says that it’s always a thrill to watch various art forms together on one stage. “It was nice to see that there was equal importance given to different dance forms, despite there being contemporary and classical varieties.

The seriousness and efforts put into each one of them could be clearly seen,” she says. Pallavi Jain, who conceptualised the contemporary pieces, says that the audience was very appreciative of the performance. “Performing contemporary art forms is always harder, since classical forms have a fixed syllabus and format to stick to. But in contemporary pieces, one has to know what to explore, where to stop, observe different movement patterns and modify,” she shares.

   Commenting on how this edition was different from the other editions of Chalana, Chitra Arvind, a choreographer, says, “This year showcased more of the younger talent. The dedication of the students and the encouragement of the parents, despite them having academic commitments, is worth a praise,” she wraps up.