Choreography programme attendees set for final show

7 contemporary performers to showcase skills from today

After a month of discussions and intense practice sessions, participants in the FACETS International Choreography Residency will be showcasing their final performances at the eighth edition of Attakkalari India Biennial 2017. The residency is a one-month programme in which seven contemporary choreographers from South Asia develop a performance with the guidance of international mentors. They will be presenting their final work at Gurunanak Bhavan, Vasanthnagar, on February 4 and 5 as part of the biennial organised by Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Bengaluru.

Meghna Bhardwaj from Delhi, a dancer trained in ballet and contemporary forms, is one of the residents who took part this year. “It was always important for me to be a part of AIB and it has been a wonderful experience,” she said. Though she wanted to create a new performance at first, the programme helped her rethink a concept which she has worked on before. “During the process, I realised that there was still a lot to be explored. The piece had been about edges as restrictions and the movements were based on geometric shapes. After interactions with the mentors, it has evolved,” Bhardwaj said. Her 11-minute solo performance entitled ‘Edges (Beginnings)’ is about cracks and spaces in between where “there is scope for dreaming and life”, she said.

The residents worked with light designers, sound designers and a dramaturge, besides choreographers from South Korea and Portugal. Samar Grewal, a mentor and sound designer, said, “Some choreographers come with a fixed idea about the music they want. Others have no idea at all. As a mentor, I worked with them to understand what they had in mind and then designed the sound for them.”

The sound used in dance is usually abstract, just as the concept. Surabhi Jain, another resident, said, “I usually compose the music for my performance. When I had to work with a composer from Switzerland, I was not sure how I would convey what I had in mind. But we were able to work together on the soundscape really well and he shared my vision for the piece.” Entitled ‘Do you have a reservation?’, her performance on February 4 will depict images from a traveller’s journey.