Kathakali goes chic seeking inspiration from France through Mithuna, a dance show representing the blend of cultures. Ankita Jain reports
Three figures sway and move against the echoes of nature and drum beats in an all-embracing countryside environment. Two being the kathakali dancers and the other one being a French contemporary dancer presents Mithuna which means forming a pair. It is all about a companionship between Indian professional kathakali dancers the choreographer Annette leday spotted with French contemporary dancer and herself. At the same time the production is something beyond mere hybridisation or fusion.
It was in 1978 that French choreographer and performer Annette leday came to India after she fell in love with the classical dance form of Kerala--kathakali. She learnt kathakali and later bharatanatyam before exploring the possibilities of bringing Indian and French performers together on the same stage.
French artiste Hélène Courvoisier, trained in ballet and contemporary dance walked-in carrying a red dress and poised on stage with different expressions which kick started the dance show. “The red dress represented the power of a woman. And the poise was a presentation of the atmosphere; it represents what I am and what I can be. It further has no story, it is a poetic way to be together instead,” she said.
“We have worked together for more than a decade now. It’s a long time and through this show we have put together what we are. We see this as poetry,” she added.
The key elements of Mithuna were presence, dance and movements. Even as the main focus was on duos, it also gave space for silence, for looking at each other and for the talent of the performers. The work also dealt with gender issues and brought the dancers to explore different types of energy. Moreover, it was a poetic evocation of the complex forces at work between human beings in our world today. Also, it didn’t use any artifice and went straight into the essence of things and beings.
“It is like a game. life is about give and take and even through this show, we presented how different people from different culture can come together and form a pair,” gushed Sadanam Manikandan, a Kathakali dancer who impressed the audience through moving his eyeballs to constantly changing drum beat incorporated in his performance.
Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan, another Kathakali artiste has been performing with the choreographer since 1988, “I have been engaged in her creative work right since her first Kathakali dance show (King lear), in 1989. And through this performance, we have shown a work of maturity on stage. A work that could not have been possible without the long association between her and the artistes over many years.”
Under the initiative of Annette leday’s company, she choreographedproductions such as King lear, la Sensitive, Trans Malabar, Cinderella Otherwise, The Tempest, Stuff of Dreams and Big-bang.org. She came up with Mithuna, an Indo-French production last year. Also, there will be a gap before the team starts the next project. Meanwhile they will stage Mithuna in Paris in March/April 2017.nki