This evening, an auditorium full of people will witness the last choreographed piece by path-breaking Bharatnatyam dancer Chandralekha, who succumbed to cancer in 2006. With a hint of yoga and martial art form Kalaripayattu, Sharira will question the limits of the body
This evening, an auditorium full of people will witness the last choreographed piece by path-breaking Bharatnatyam dancer Chandralekha, who succumbed to cancer in 2006. With a hint of yoga and martial art form Kalaripayattu, Sharira will question the limits of the body
For those familiar with the inexhaustible world of Indian classical dance, the name Chandralekha evokes a particular set of emotions. There is much respect, of course, but also a certain amount of hesitance. The late dancer (she passed away in 2006) had long established herself as a respected choreographer in the Bharatnatyam tradition. By the sixties though, after she had begun questioning everything she had spent years learning, she retired.
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Dancers Shaji John and Chennai-based poet Tishani Doshi |
When she returned to the stage almost two decades later, she brought with her a whole new language of expression. A select group of people will have access to this revised art form on November 19, when Chandralekha's last-choreographed work, Sharira:Fire/Desire will be performed.
That the piece is still performed says much about the respect its performers have for the dancer who created it. "It could have died out after Chandralekha passed on," says Sadanand Menon, who now manages the stage and lights, and worked closely with the dancer. "The performers wanted to pay tribute to Chandralekha though, which is why it has been seen five or six times over the past three years."
When asked about Chandralekha's influence on dance in India, Menon's reply also helps explain what Sharira is meant to evoke in those who witness it. "When she returned to the stage in 1984," he explains, "she had a new approach to choreography that integrated Bharatnatyam with robust forms like yoga and Kalarippayattu (the martial art from Kerala)." Menon describes Chandralekha's work as a reinterpretation of dance to speak to a more contemporary audience. "It was no longer dance as a spectacle. She was asking questions about the limits of the body."
Presented by the Dashrath Patel Foundation for Creativity, Sharira plays out to music composed in the Hindustani classical Dhrupad style by the acclaimed Gundecha Brothers. The stage is shared by two dancers -- Shaji John and Chennai-based poet Tishani Doshi. "The music connects a lot with the idea of breath control," says Menon. "It deals with a stretchable time, and the dancers stretch their bodies accordingly."
We ask him, finally, to describe the performance for those completely unfamiliar with classical dance. "It's not classical at all," he corrects us. "It's contemporary expression. The audience has to come with an open mind because there is no narrative here. It's not a romance or tragedy; it is an investigation of a principle of femininity in our bodies."
At: Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point at 6.30 pm. Call: 66223737. Tickets: Rs 100, Rs 200 at venue. For details, log on to www.ncpamumbai.com
