From colourful Kathakali to fluid Rabindra Nritya, six troupes to explore India's dance heritage at NCPA dance fest

Bengaluru: For Bharatnatyam exponent Rama Vaidyanathan, compelling storytelling begins with oneself. And so, her production for this year’s Nakshatra dance festival, a Bharatnatyam presentation called ‘Storm Before the Calm’, is all about what a dancer goes through as she or he prepares for the D-day.

"In that sense, it is not your typical Bharatnatyam recital. There is no narrative or sequence in my composition. I think you can say my production stretches the boundaries of the Bharatnatyam tradition," adds Vaidyanathan, who was awarded the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 2013 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2017.

"Although we do have a piece on Nataraja, sort of the done thing in Bharatnatyam, mostly we are exploring the mind of a performer and what she/he goes through to come to the finished product," adds Vaidyanathan.

The three-day Nakshatra Dance Festival 2023 will be held between October 6 and October 8 at Jamshed Baba Theatre in Mumbai.

When Nakshatra festival was put together by the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai, way back in 2009, it was to give a platform for productions that take forward the dance traditions by incorporating the socio-cultural ramifications of the changing times, says Swapnokalpa Dasgupta, head of the NCPA’s dance department, and the curator of the festival.

About six troupes are finalised for the festival every year. "We keep track of various troupes in India and their productions. Sometimes, we ask the troupes to present a specific production from their portfolio. Our choice is usually a mix of sought-after troupes and the upcoming ones to keep the balance as well as to lure the audience," adds Dasgupta.

This year, Dasgupta says she is excited about bringing Rabrindra Nritya to Mumbai.

Purported to be India’s first modern dance and conceptualised by Rabrindranath Tagore, Rabrindra Nritya is not just about dancing for Rabrindra Sangeet, as it is understood often, says Sruti Bandopadhyay, a professor in Manipuri Dance in Visva Bharati Santiniketan, who has also been involved in researching and preserving Rabindra Nritya for decades. She and her troupe will be interpreting Tagore’s ‘Chitraganda’ for the Nakshatra festival.

"The story itself is quite unique. Tagore had picked a character that appears briefly in Mahabharata – one of Arjuna’s wives – and expanded on her story. ‘Chitrangada’ is thus the story of a warrior woman deeply in love with Arjuna," adds Dasgupta.

Tagore’s 'nritya natya' was inspired by the South East Asian dance traditions and Manipuri dance as well as south Indian ones.

"He had so beautifully put together classical, folk and global influences. Although I have experimented with the form, I have kept the idiom intact. The original costumes and the ornaments visualised by him were unique. It is clear he derived his inspiration from Indonesia. We have tried to follow his ideas in this regard," says Bandopadhyay.

This year, apart from ‘Storm From the Calm’ and ‘Chitrangada’, there is also ‘Shrimanta Yogi', another Bharatnatyam presentation by Vaibhav Arekar & Sankhya Dance Company, ‘Adviteeyam’, an Odissi performance by Ratikant Mohapatra's Srjan, ‘Let It Flow’, a Kathak recital by Anart Foundation & Ishira Parikh & Maulik Shah and ‘Kalyanasougandhikam’, a Kathakali presentation by Margi from Kerala.

"We will also have workshops on Rabrindra Nrtiya and Kathak, including sessions on their costumes and jewellery," says Dasgupta.