Dance like a man

Its most likely that when someone familiar with the dancerchoreographerrsquos work heard the name Astad Deboo a head full of silver cornrows and a kalidar kurta billowing around his lithe frame came to mindDeboo who wouldrsquove turned 74 this week was as much a style icon as someone who changed the course of contemporary dance and Kathak in India His experiments inspired challenged and sometimes baffled generations of audiences The winner of the Padma Shri in 2007 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996 Deboo passed on last December leaving friends and followers surprised Designer Ashdeen Lilaowala says Deboo lived well till his last day ldquoIf I were to live my life like he did Irsquod have no regrets I miss our interactions but I prefer to celebrate that part of his life that was fullrdquoUsing the tools of musicality and set design Deboo would conjure up in his performances a visual otherworld that allowed the story he was trying to tell to traverse time place and gender barriers But it was through the costumes shaping the syntax of choreography that Deboo became iconic the wistful gaze with a winding skein of movement His costumes ranged from floating flares to dhoti drapes and stretch fabric wraps that could be imagined into multiple shapes like a chewing gum contorting around the tongue He admitted that this has taken decades of work and he famously once said ldquoDancers are made not bornrdquoAlso Read We would crack up in Gujarati togetherRemembering how Deboo elevated costumes to a language of liberation and transformation four designers try to make sense of the dance legend behind the twirllsquoAstad broke shackles of gender stereotypes through costumersquoSandhya Raman Independent Costume DesignerThe first time I spoke to Astad was in 1991 I wanted him to perform at my graduation show for the National Institute of Design Ahmedabad Even though that did not materialise we stayed in touch and became friends My wish to collaborate with him was realised with Unbroken Unbowed which was not only Astadrsquos wonderful tribute to Gandhi but also his last performance He appreciated the finer nuances of detailing in the costumes I designedFor Unbroken Unbowed his only prerequisite was that he didnrsquot want to look like a Kathak dancer and gave me an open hand to create We kept the costumes simple yet powerful I used Khadi liberally and added the texture of quilting and crinkling to achieve theatrical impact Since we shared our birthdays it was always about who would be the first to call and wish It was the cutest annual moment we shared ldquoKhushi apke saath hamesha raherdquo hersquod tell melsquoHe loved his flares and loved to twirlrsquoDeboo in a Jade ensemble created from 3D handcrafted motifs used as patchwork on a monochromatic angarkha ldquoWe decided to paint the eyes like the Kathakali dancers but with a contemporary feelrdquo says Monica ShahMonica Shah JadeIt was in 2014 when we had approached Astad Deboo to open and close our fashion show with a performance After the show we continued to collaborate and designed costumes for him He loved his flares and loved to twirl He understood dance and using the art form he defined costumes by how they moved through space and reacted to motion That connection between movement and garments made our collaboration beautifulWorking with him was deeply moving and inspiring on account of his love for Indian craft He believed himself to be an ambassador of Indiarsquos culture and wanted the ensembles he wore to reflect this Designing for him was a learning experiencelsquoHe understood how to use a garment and make it his ownrsquoAstad Deboo choreographed and performed Eternal Embrace in a costume designed by Archana Shah Pic courtesyAmit KumarArchana Shah BandhejWe met because of costumes actually but eventually grew closer as friends It was a relationship we shared for more than three decades Astad had come to see me at my home in Ahmedabad as he was looking for a change in his sartorial storytelling from the unitards to something that signified movement and grace A huge portrait of Bapuji Mahatma Gandhi that was on a wall in my home became the starting point and Astad expressed his intent to imbue Bapujirsquos minimal but provocative lessons in his attire I told him about this one performer in Rajasthan who wore a long red angarkhalike tunic while reciting songs of Bapuji The idea of the angarkha tunic clicked and the rest is history Wersquove designed numerous angarkhas covering the whole spectrum of the colour and textile chart tweaking the kalis pleats depending on the scope of the performance During his visits to Ahmedabad he would drop into my Bandhej office and curiously rummage through fabrics Astad had a good sense of texture and colour he could differentiate good embroidery from bad and never hesitated to try a new style He loved traditional Indian silhouettes and was interested in how we could tweak them to adapt to his dance pieces His personal wardrobe of crisp white Lucknowi kurtas too was an extension of this lovelsquoHe understood the role of the costume designerrsquoDeboo wore a costume designed by Ashdeen Lilaowala during a performance at the Art amp Soul gallery against an installation by sculptor Arzan Khambatta Lilaowala says that the angarkha tunic embroidered with cranes depicted the exhilaration of being free Pic courtesyAmit KumarAshdeen Lilaowala Fashion DesignerAstad was a friend not a client We had collaborated on two costumes for his recent shows and I remember him telling me ldquoDarling I trust you and your artrdquo He understood the real role of the costume designer and his ideas went beyond the confines of classical dance and Bollywood He perfected the angarkha tunic shape since he got the nuances of fabrics and was intuitive about what worked for him It was amazing how he made the stage props and lighting come together with the costumes to create shapes and forms in largerthanlife performances Oh and how he loved to twirl I used to joke ldquoAstad with so many turns sometimes 300 at a go siddhu yoursquoll go upar like a helicopter yoursquoll fly straight up like a helicopterrdquo and hersquod respond saying he was stronger than most people way younger than himWhen I launched my label in 2012 I travelled across India holding exhibitions One of my exhibitions in Bengaluru coincided with Astadrsquos trip He helped me set up the booth carrying heavy suitcases full of sarees Everyone around my stall laughed in envy saying that a famous dancer was carrying my luggage ldquoYou have a fancy coolierdquoLifersquos a balletIn 1986 French couturier Pierre Cardin commissioned Astad Deboo to choreograph a piece for the legendary prima ballerina of the Bolshoi ballet company Maya Plisetskaya of Don Quixote Swan Lake and The Dying Swan fameAlso Read Astad Deboo 19472020 The Universal Gypsy