In a first, dance forms of Korea, Spain and India to come together in Mumbai

Come Wednesday Mumbaiborn Kathak exponent Aditi Bhagwat will take it one step at a time to introduce the city to traditional dance forms from Korea Spain and India with an 85minute long performance at Prithvi Theatre Aptly titled Borders and Beyond the performance will feature Lee Chuljin a traditional Buddhist Korean dancer Bettina Castano a flamenco performer from Spain Latasana Devi who specialises in Manipuri dance and Bhagwat who will perform a Kathak routineLatasana DevildquoThis will be my first time introducing a Korean artiste as part of my crosscultural show in Indiardquo says Bhagwat founder of the organising group Aditi Collective In a time when Kpop is increasingly gaining traction among the younger generations in India Bhagwat wanted to give dance enthusiasts a taste of Korearsquos traditional dance heritage ldquoFor India Korean culture is novel Many people are keen to explore their traditions and the only kind of music and dance we are introduced to is through Kpop I have performed with Lee in Korea before and wanted to bring this unexplored art to Mumbairdquo she explainsBettina CastanoWhile Bhagwat has been practising Kathak since she was four years old she was also introduced to other kinds of traditional Indian music courtesy her mother a Hindustani classical vocalist ldquoShe introduced me to ghazals bhajans lavani and other forms of folk music at a very young age The first time I heard traditional Korean songs mdash the kind that Lee performs to mdash the sonic similarities between them and Manipuri music immediately struck merdquo she reveals To test her theory she made Chuljin listen to a Manipuri song ldquoHe did not know that it was Manipuri and when I informed him he asked lsquoAre you sure this is not Koreanrsquo Many poses that the dancers use in the two traditional forms are alike as wellrdquo she revealed adding that Buddhist dancing is a slow and introverted performance where each step is spelled out and requires complete attentionAditi BhagwatAll four dancers will have a solo performance that will each begin and end with music or steps that are taken forward in the performance that follows ldquoThe idea is not to create a fusion Itrsquos about shedding light on the coexistence of the many art forms and respecting and accepting other cultures while following your ownrdquo Bhagwat informs Towards the end the quartet will come together for a performance with their own instruments mdash Bhagwat with her gunghroos Castano will bring her castanets Chuljin will perform with his taiko and Devi will take up her drumsWhile the performers are well acquainted with each otherrsquos dance form the group only got together last Sunday to begin rehearsals and planning ldquoThese are all very senior artistes each one is the best at their individual art forms They also have a deep understanding of other practices which are to be performed collaterallyrdquo she signs offOn January 31 8 pm onwardsAt Prithvi Theatre Juhu Church Road JuhuLog on to inbookmyshowcomCost Rs 500