Coping with Circuit-Breaker in Singapore
Vidhya Nair
This past week has been intellectually stimulating and our dancers were pushed to innovate outside their usual boundaries with several initiatives that showcased new ways to engage through classical dance.
The week began with the Sunday Spotlight Series, this time featuring eminent dancers who joined the Zoom session from cities in India; Aditi Mangaldas from Mumbai, Priyadarshini Govind from Chennai and Ileana Citaristi from Bhuvaneswar. They spoke about their gurus - Kumudini Lakhia, Birju Maharaj, Kalanidhi Narayanan, Kelucharan Mohapatra respectively. They shared generously details of their relationships with their gurus which each had nurtured over many decades of interaction. They highlighted how the personal attributes of their gurus, inspired their technique and approach to their own craft yet they each emphasised how much room their gurus gave them to develop their own interpretation and create their own style which they have now become synonymous with. Over 70 dancers attended this session and asked questions on how their gurus influenced their own work, how teachers among them can impart values of humility, respect and open-minded learning to their own students. More Spotlight Series sessions are planned for May 2020.
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Apsaras Arts and Aalaap Concepts conceived and collaborated to create TWOgetherwhich featured six pairs of young dancers, each set from Singapore and India, working together on a specific theme and presenting a duo presentation. This series ran daily from 29 April to 3 May 2020. The live performance on Instagram enabled audiences to watch the energies of the dancers (many of the pairs had no previous interactions with their partners) engage on select themes through a demonstration of show-and-tell. Some of the pairings worked seamlessly as they showcased dualities in a simultaneous visual; Bhakti Sringaram for Krishna with depictions of Meera and Radha. Others used theatrical-storytelling to highlight epic characters, while some showed the contrasting role of bols and chulukattus to highlight the value of time-keeping in dance forms. Each performance was unique and clearly a challenge for these young dancers, as they navigated the technology of a live online performance, the need to create space for dance at home and what it means to engage and communicate effectively to a live audience. This initiative pushed dancers to think out of the box and beyond their usual repertoire to find ways to engage in a high-impact way within a limited live timeframe.
Video link of dancers sharing their experience
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@Samarpanaforartsandwellbeing which has been running daily live performances featured Apsaras Arts, resident choreographer and principal dancer, Mohanapriyan Thavarajah on 30 April, for an hour-long live performance. His program featured a full-length performance that incorporates his signature technique which featured detailed storytelling and abhinaya. He presented three contrasting pieces including Chinanchiru kiliye, the famed love poem by Bharathiyar- where he explores the traditional relationship of a father with his daughter, highlighting key episodes of her development years culminating in her marriage and send-off. Priyan’s precise gestures drew attention to the nuances within the lyrics which struck an emotional chord.