Music by Grammy nominee Mac Quayle was the highlight of Vijayalakshmi’s Mohiniyattam performance. She spoke to I Kaur about her collaborative work
Inspired by poet Sudeep Sen’s book of poetry, Rain, Vijayalakshmi interpreted monsoons through South Indian classical dance, Mohiniyattam, at the Azad Bhawan Auditorium. The programme was organised in association with ICCR.
The dancer said that Mohiniyattam describes the magic of monsoons perfectly. She expressed, “I am passionate about poetry. Being an English teacher I connect to it well and this was a great opportunity to put my passion for dance and poetry together. I took portions that I could connect to.”
The dancer combined her work with music by Grammy Nominee Mac Quayle and direction from world famous director Sara Baur-Harding. “There is traditional music of Kerala, Rabindra Sangeet, which I have sung myself and there is the element of world music which adds the diversity. The Rabindra Sangeet has been recreated by Mac Quayle which is what makes this performance unique and special. The music has explored different moods the rains evoke,” she explained.
On why she asked Quayle to reinvent the music, she said, “I wanted a fresh interpretation of Rabindra Sangeet and he came up with something interesting that retained the essence of the traditional music.”
She feels that dance in it self is a form of poetry. “Dance is poetry in various languages. In this performance it happens to be English. The verses in Rain are beautiful and inspiring. The poems, music, dance and visuals merge and become one. Everything is seamlessly woven.”
She said it is perhaps for the first time that Dhrupad has been incorporated to a Mohiniyattam performance. The music was rendered by a known name of Dhrupad tradition, Wasifuddin Dagar. She elaborated, “Dhrupad is intense, powerful and slow. It is simple, but is unique kind of work. The poetry inspired me to bring all these elements together. My co-director helped me interpret the entire dance beautifully.”