Productions
JUST ENOUGH MADNESS
“Do not take my devils away, because my angels may flee too. ”
Rainer Maria Rilke
One out of four people suffer from mental health problems. 300,000 people in the UK, with long term mental health problems lose their jobs every year. ‘Just enough madness’ takes audiences through the wondrous journey of the mind, unravelling its complexity in the context of Hindu mythology and the present day.
The dance acts as a bridge between western classical music traditions and Carnatic music to bring forth the theatricality and lucidity of Kuchipudi, thereby serving diverse audiences. The music, sounds and structures coming from this confluence will bring the best of both musical worlds together to highlight the barriers in the arena of mental health.
This dance-theatre production is in collaboration with composer/singer Supriya Nagarajan, composer Hari Bhaskar, sound artist Duncan Chapman and percussionist Prathap Ramachandra.
This production is in partnership with Manasamitra and has been funded by the Arts Council, England and is supported by Dance City, GemArts, Kalasangam.
THE FOREST DREAM
“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.”
Chris Maser
This production aims to highlight the urgency of climatic trauma that is befalling us due to selfish acts of deforestation and rampant industrialization. This work presented through the prism of Indian mythology narrates the story of ‘The forest man of India’ who devoted his life to the cause of reviving his beloved land- the Majuli islands in the mighty and sometimes ferocious Brahmaputra river. This intergenerational work explores his beautiful relationship with the goddess of forests-‘Aranyani’ whose very existence is now under threat. Weaving in Carnatic music with western soundscapes, the production is a stylistic blend of Bharatanatyam , Kuchipudi (both South Indian classical dance styles) and contemporary dance. As the clock ticks irreversibly, this work, holding up a mirror to the current and the next generation, is an urgent plea to course-correct ourselves.
ONCE IN A BLUE MOON
“Go slowly, my lovely moon, go slowly.”
Khaled Hosseini
This work uncovers the role of the moon in Indian literature and poetry and its visual translation in dance. The moon has occupied an integral yet a much understated role in the arts. Often seen in metaphoric roles as the friend/sakhi, the confidante, the messenger or mediator, the only thread tying the separated lovers, the benchmark of beauty, the moon has been a source of wonder and mystery.
The production explores the relationship of the Nayika/female protagonist with the moon through various genres of musical compositions. The Moon is seen as an analogy to psychological and human development and its representation through dance.
This work themed around Luke Jerram’s Moon installation was performed at the Bloomsbury festival in 2019.
CHAURAPANCHASIKA…OF LOVE & LAMENT
And sometimes we look to the end of the tale that there should be marriage-feasts, and find only, as it were, black marigolds and a silence.
—Azeddin el Mocadecci
Some poems engage your heart and soul to experience it, leaving you desirous of creating imagery, where each line narrates a story complete in itself, which reveals itself to you layer by layer, word by word, and very gradually every time you read it. One such writing is the ‘Chaurapnchasika’ (50 verses of Chauras)
Written by a Kashmiri poet ‘Bilhana’ in the Sanskrit language in the 11th century, this work takes you into the world of Chauras where his surreptitiously blossoming love for princess Yamini faces the inevitable opposition by her father. Will Chauras despair in his loneliness for the rest of his life in prison or will he meet his fatal end finding eternal peace.