Every step tells a story

Updated On: 26 November, 2021 07:06 AM IST | Mumbai | Sammohinee Ghosh

A virtual event presents an evening of dance and storytelling while shining a light on the nine rasas

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Deepali Salil

What`s common to a shaman’s prance, a Chhau performer’s chali or topka and the sprightly stepping in and out in Cheraw? Beat. Caused by stressed and unstressed syllables, the same beat leads all spoken word exploits. Movement renders language to stories. Abhinaya Katha, a virtual event, leans on this age-old syncretic ferment where dance meets narration. “Times have been tough. Our team likes to push the envelope of oral storytelling. Only a couple of months ago, we had curated a programme on music flowing into kathas. Abhinaya Katha was born of a similar passion for novelty,” says Hema Subramanian, co-founder, Mumbai Storytellers Society. “We have been left to innovate with and around our screens. And we must tell our tales differently to reach out to the right audience,” she adds.

Lavanya Prasad