Dwelling on desire

Dancers Raj Shepal and Aastha Oza at rehearsals

Little did dancer and researcher Ulka Mayur realise that a research paper at a literature conference would one day become a dance theatre piece that explores themes of desire. Her chosen method at the time was storytelling and her audience made up of academia. "While working with characters from the epics I realised that there was a running theme of desire and constant sexual tension we hadn't delved into," says Mayur.

It's then that she took to research and spent the next two months penning down the script for Ballad of Desires that premiers this weekend. "I chose dance theatre as a medium because it was a script that demanded the evocative," she explains. The production uses two kinds of narratives - four stories from the epics that comprise the larger part of the show and a smaller part that speaks of the concepts of desire and throws up complex questions in a light-hearted manner. The chosen stories are of Ahalya from Ramayana, Ruchi and Renuka from Mahabharata and Hirapath from the Bheel Bharat, a tribal version of the Mahabharata.

Ulka Mayur

The narrator (Mayur herself) plays a drunken woman who opens the show with the lines, "I am beyond desires and I am consumed by desire." This is a clever ploy to bring out the irreverence. At times esoteric and at others humourous, the stories though rooted in Mahabharata and Ramayana have been retold in a contemporary manner. "There are also elements of folklore," she says.

With a strong sense of visual imagery that would suit the context, Mayur cast dancers Raj Shepal and Aastha Oza to produce pieces that draw from kathak, bharatanatyam, contemporary dance and even Spanish rhumba. Original music has been composed by Bharat-Hitarth.

The ultimate idea, Mayur says, is to celebrate desire without the taboos and prudishness it often comes with. "I also refrain from taking sides through the narrative and the important questions will actually come from the audience," she says.

On February 22, 7.30 pm
At Harkat Studios, Bungalow 94, First Floor, Aram Nagar 2, Versova, Andheri West.
Call 8104752001
Log on to insider.in
Cost Rs 300

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