Dancer Santosh Nair talks to Utpal K Banerjee about developing his unique style by combining forms like Kathakali, Mayurbhanj Chhau and some modern Western patterns
The term ‘sadhya; in Indian languages denotes effort to its extreme or pursuit to its limit. The 15th year anniversary of Sadhya — the flagship dance-body, launched and run by dancer-choreographer Santosh Nair — was proof enough how much the members of his organisation rose to the word sadhya’s meaning: in their literal outbursts on stage: in terms of burning passion for dance, purposive grit to carry the theme through and sheer joie de vivre palpable in the performance arena.
Santosh had his triad of training in Kathakali from father Kalmandalam Padmanabhan, an accomplished dancer himself, and later from the celebrated guru Sadanam Balakrishnan. He was trained in contemporary dance from guru Narendra Sharma of Uday Shankar’s famous Almora-Centre vintage and in Mayurbhanj Chhau from guru Janmejoy Sai Babu. It was obvious how much he has been able to groom students at Sadhya and other disciples who splintered off to form their own organs — like Ursula Dance Company (UDC) under Bhavini Mishra and Big Dance Centre (BDC) under Karan Kumar — and made them of sterner stuff.
Advan...A Journey, celebrating the occasion, began with An Ode to Gurus, a creative dance expression in which Santosh brilliantly personified Shankar and his famous hand-gestures and body-movements, followed by a volley of other dancers. Next was Yodhhha, a war dance in Mayurbhanj Chhau, also led by Santosh: performed in a mood of tandava bhav (virile expression) in the distinctive hathiyar dhara style. Then UDC moved in with contemporary dance, Prayana, with a mishmash of the East and the West, forming and dissolving patterns. Said the choreographer Bhavini, “life is about moving forward. No matter how many hits you get, you just keep moving forward. This continuum of life, this process of search and discovery is my staple.”
Dhariman followed at a furious pace almost at acrobatic levels: as a balance-and-control showcase. Here were many arches, peacocks, back-somersaults and pyramid-formations of fantastic proportions. BDC presented lyrical Contemporary, again with fast-paced, passing tableaus. The grand finale was Ripples, a contemporary experimental work, showing all the assembled performers in a mélange of choreographic patterns.
Excerpts of interview with Santosh Nair:
How do you distinguish creative dance from the contemporary genreIJ
Creative dance is what Uday Shankar brought to India from the 1930s onwards. Bearing his Western sensibilities and simultaneously drawing from his exposure to dances in India, he created his own unique style. Cotemporary dance, on the other hand, is what is in vogue today: as a direct influence of the Western contemporary genre
How do you then differentiate between the modern Western and Indian formsIJ
The differences are vital. The Western genre tends to be often abstract and draws upon the contemporary lifestyles. They derive their techniques from essentially classical ballet, having slowly developed their own idioms. In sharp contrast, India has long-established roots in dance and its contemporary style cannot but draw from these roots. These traditions provide a fertile source of themes, not necessarily abstract.
In your long association with the contemporary dance, have you developed any grammarIJ
I had five years grooming in Bhoomika under guru Narendra Sharma, followed by five years of dancing solo. Then I founded Sadhya where I have been teaching dance and choreography. Here I have been able to develop my methodology for contemporary dance: first for three months, now expanded into a one-year structured course. It’s divided into four segments. First, we teach body conditioning, based on the many movements borrowed from Mayurbhanj Chhau, tampered by modern Western patterns. Second module is techniques where we teach jumps in the air, rolls on the floor, use of three levels and sensitisation about space. Then we take them, at third stage, into improvisation, where trainees learn not merely to use body but also to apply mind, and suggest topics from own life as well as from elsewhere. You’ll be surprised how fresh often these ideas are. The final phase is in the realm of composition: both solo and trio.
You have been active in Delhi, but also familiar with Kolkata, Bengaluru and Mumbai contemporary scenes. Are there many distinctions in approachIJ
Yes indeed. In Kolkata, Sudarshan Charavarti has developed his own unique repertoire for Saphire Creations. There are also the distinguished choreographers like Mamata Shankar and Tanushri Shankar. In Bengaluru, Mayuri Upadhyay is doing significant work, and there’s also Jayachandran. The Mumbai scene is a little blurred, being dominated by the heady presence of Bollywood, After Sachin Shankar’s demise, there has been recent interest in Tushar Kalia’s work, He has been our student earlier.
You mentioned Uday Shankar and Narendra Sharma. How much do you still owe to themIJ
Initially I was not aware much of Shankar’s specific work. But, since my entire grooming was under Narendra ji — trained by Shankar — who was always full of the Shankar-lore, I gradually learnt how the legendary man meticulously built up his creative repertoire!