Reconstructing Shiva's dance of destruction

Updated on: 22 January,2010 08:53 AM IST |
The Guide Team |

Catch Sonal Mansingh's fusion of Odissi and Bharatnatyam today

Catch Sonal Mansingh's fusion of Odissi and Bharatnatyam today

Although Odissi and Bharatnatyam are the children of the same motheru00a0-- the Bharata Natya Shastra, they have developed distinct personalities and each style has its own identity, geometry, music and flavour. Sonal Mansingh is perhaps the only renowned dancer who has mastered both, and has trained a large number of disciples.

Her performance is a fusion of both the forms, known as Dwi Varnaa. "It projects the comet of social harmony through bringing together the two ancient dance styles of Odissi and Bharatanatyam in harmonious juxtaposition. Like we take three hair stands to make a plait, here we are taking two styles here," explains the living legend and icon of Indian classical dances.

The high point here is Harihara, a combination of the Khamas varnam from the Bharatanatyam repertoire dedicated to Shiva (Hara), and the depiction of verses from the Gita Govinda dedicated to Krishna (Hari) in the Odissi style. 'Alaap' is a blend of Bharatanatyam's alarippu and Odissi's sthayi. "In this performance, I have a group of six dancers with meu00a0-- three will perform Bharatanatyam and three in Odissi style.

It is a technique of how they can be kept together while keeping their individuality," she adds. This innovative performer has never failed to reinvent herselfu00a0-- supple and subtle movements have given depth and meaning to her themes.