The Scottish Dance Theatre, Scotland’s national contemporary dance company, is on its second Indian tour as part of British Council’s Impulse Season 2. Its artistic director Fleur Darkin shares details about the three choreography they will be presenting in India and the enriching experience they had in 2012
Euphoric,” she sums up her experience of performing in India two years ago in just one word. After a pause she states, “We experienced the power of dance. We all know that dance and music do not need a common language to communicate but to feel it first-hand is something else. We performed to the packed audience in major cities and met so many students. We were moved by our experience. The workshops we did with the students here was not just about education but about heart and spirit connect. We are thrilled to be back in India again, with great energy and excitement to promote artistic dialogue and cultural exchange between Scotland and India through our performances.”
Fleur Darkin, artistic director, Scottish Dance Theatre, is in India again with performances along with educational, skill-sharing and participation activities in Chennai, Bengaluru, New Delhi and Kolkata as part of British Council’s Impulse Season 2. Scottish Dance Theatre is part of Dundee Rep Theatre which collaborates with both international and UK-based choreographers of outstanding calibre to produce high quality dance that is thought-provoking and holds resonance in people’s lives. Scottish Dance Theatre contribute to a wealth of work made in Scotland and is highly regarded as an arts ambassador on a local, national and international level. After gaining popularity in their first Indian tour in 2012, Scottish Dance theatre is here with a bouquet of three choreographies under the programme Forces of Nature, which will feature works by three dynamic choreographers from across the globe. They are In This Storm by Henri Oguike, Revelator by Ruth Janssen and Winter, Again by Jo Strømgren — all highlighting a range of different approaches to dance.
“Winter, Again by Jo mixes beautifully poised dance with all means necessary to tell a story of a community struggling to hide their dark misdemeanours under winter’s snowy blanket. It reveals the inner human nature through a very compelling story that is set in the season which is all grey and dull. Revelator by Ruth is a duet that explores the relationship of love between two individuals. It is an intimate performance that reveals the frailties and absurdity of humans as they pursue enduring relationships through the seasons of life. In the Storm by Henri is all about the power of music. Various kinds of sounds, of bells and drums, have been used to explore the nature and power of music. So all these three performances talk about nature in one way or the other. The first one is based on a season that is an essential part of nature, the second explores the human nature and the last is the nature of music,” explains Darkin.
Each choreographer brings his own personal expertise to each piece. For example, Jo is a Norwegian and “an excellent storyteller.” He has employed all his storytelling techniques to the choreography Winter, Again, which is more like a dance drama. Jo has developed a significant personal style with a mix of theatre, dance, puppets, film and live music. As a theatre director, he has mostly worked with national and municipal theatres in Scandinavia, predominantly with plays by Henrik Ibsen. Jo’s childhood was a mix of local identity and globe-trotter confusion which has greatly influenced his professional work.
Ruth has a degree in contemporary dance and one can see a lot of it in her choreograohy. Henri is a Nigerian choreographer trained at the london Contemporary Dance School. “He is intensely gifted when it comes to music and he can bring music to life through his choreographies,” adds Darkin.
Darkin fell in love with the Indian classical dance the very first time she witnessed it. “I loved the relationship between the musician who mostly play live music and the dancer. I was really inspired by that as I feel it is this chemistry that translates into magic in the performance. I also love the costumes of Indian classical dances,” shares Darkin who hopes that their second performance will be as much loved by the audience as their first one. “It is an exchange of humanity through an art form. We see dance as a powerful tool for self-transformation. International collaboration is nothing new. Our hope for this India tour is to foster conditions for a new relationship with India. We will tour to Chennai, Bengaluru, New Delhi and Kolkata ending in Puducherry where we will work with our artistic peers to create new works of art co-authored by artists from both the countries,” says Darkin.