Reality through movements

'Attakkalari 2015'

Like white swans against a black backdrop, young dancers set the stage on fire at Alliance Francaise recently as they showcased hidden layers of reality through their swift, effortless and gracious movements.

The contemporary dance performance by the ‘Attakkalari Repertoire’ proved that talent was at its peak during the recent curtain raiser for the ‘Attakkalari India Biennial 2015’ (AIB), South Asia’s largest festival in contemporary dance and movement arts. The dancers spelt everything what Attakalari stands for — an aesthetic appeal and commitment to bustle the contemporary dance scene in the City.

The dignitaries who graced the occasion were Arvind Jadhav, Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Tourism and Sudhakar Rao, Former Chief Secretary. Some of the artistes who were present at the festival were Jayachandran Palazhy, Artistic Director of Attakkalari and Philippe Saire, a choreographer from Switzerland and SG Vasudev, a visual artist.

Palazhy said that the festival aims to facilitate contemporary cultural expressions, improve the health of the contemporary dance scene, connect people and cultures, nurture the talent of upcoming choreographers and exchange ideas on dance, research and design.

Terming dance as a dynamic space for creative expression, Palazhy said, “The AIB 2015 is an attempt to present the response of dancers and artistes from different disciplines. Stemming out of many shared contemporary concerns and created in different parts of the world, these performances will offer a window to several realms of our imagination.”

The festival is in its seventh year and the theme this time is ‘Dance Connect’.  ‘The Centre Stage’ is the main highlight where Bengaluru will witness unique and iconoclastic quintets, ensembles and duets by acclaimed dancers from countries such as Germany, United Kingdom and Spain.

 ‘Platform 15 — Emerging South Asia’ is a means to present various sections or complete works from South Asian choreographers to connect with artistes and audience worldwide, which will enable the presentation of quality choreographic works. ‘Writing on Dance Lab’, a journal, is another aspect of the festival that will focus on contemporary dance in critical thinking to bridge the awareness gap and build a meaningful discourse around performing arts.

The performances enable one to look outside of themselves and their materiality and experience the unreal. The festival will be held from February 6 to 15 across three venues — Ranga Shankara, Chowdaiah Memorial Hall and Alliance Francaise.

For details, visit www.attakalari­biennial.org