Bharata Natyam & Bollywood with an Attitude: inDANCE’s show in New York, May 27, 2009

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DesiClub-South Asian Times, New York, May 27, 2009

Bharata Natyam & Bollywood with an Attitude: inDANCE’s show in New York

by Raj S. Rangarajan

It's dance with a difference, its "classical Bharata Natyam" with an attitude: its kicks and sidekicks, its shivers and sputters, its jives, jumps and jumpsuits, its tradition and a cerebral irreverence for the traditional.

What do you call that? Thinking outside the box? More than an explosion of talent, it was an evening that celebrated free expression and originality not to ignore the creative fluid energy that comes with being unrestrained, unshackled and unusual.

It was Toronto-based inDANCE troupe's debut in New York at Joyce Soho in downtown New York. Artistic director, Hari Krishnan, an accomplished dancer himself, who has performed in several parts of the world including the U.K., Toronto, Malaysia, Singapore and India, says, "the objective of the fun-filled event was to produce work that is bold and provocative, and in the process, presenting a differing dimension to South Indian dance."

It was a reiteration that if you can emotionally and metaphysically afford to take wings like a dove you can enjoy the thrill that awaits. But then you need to let yourself go. So, one would obviously ask: how really can one let oneself go on a warm Sunday afternoon when the ambience was friendly and the performers friendlier?

The answer: with an open mind and wild imagination and the notion that there's more to enjoying a dance or sequence than writing a review specially when performers are doing their best to experience and entertain. It is really amazing how much an open mind can accomplish. Initially I started writing notes: soon I realized it was not worth the effort: I got to write from my heart not to fill a column.

If you haven't seen Bharata Natyam (originated 400BCE - 200BCE in South India) earlier you may think this is weird, but then who defines weird? Titled "Box" dancers Nalin Bisnath and Julie Neuspiel faced off as hybrid entities with Julie decked in her traditional Bharata Natyam finery apropos a dancer and Nalin was in jeans. But, perhaps that's where Hari Krishnan's creative genius helped one understand the rhythmic syllable and the ambience of a nontraditional display. Hari did the voice and cymbals as a dance director would. Aaron Paige, a student of ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University and South Indian percussion played the mridangam (percussion instrument) with aplomb.

Bollywood hopscotch confused the audience at times: perhaps it was intentional. But then when free expression takes over one cannot ask a performer to control himself or herself. The viewer has to try to understand what Bollywood (read, Indian cinema) is all about. Being a whimsical take on today's retro-Bollywood, cinema verité entertainment and expression comprising vignettes from dancers Nalin Bisnath, Beth Despres, Hiroshi Miyamoto, Masumi Sato, Vinod Shankar and Emily Watts, the transition from "natyam" (choreographed dance) to Bollywood (fancy-free) was agreeable though questionable.

But in its New York Premiere "Owning Shadows" was a different cup of tea: it was an interpretation of the centuries-old Indian epic, the "Ramayana" where the exiled young prince, Rama spurns the advances of the ogress, Shurpanakha and instead is charmed by his demure wife and princess, Sita. Combining Balinese dance with a modern version of Bharata Natyam, Hiroshi Miyamoto and Emily Watts excelled effortlessly. A New York-based performer, Emily's versatility and credits that included ballet, vaudeville showed.

A rehearsal director for inDANCE since 2003 and performer with diverse styles, Hiroshi's act was a cinch.

Beth Despres, who has been trained in ballet and modern dance was fluid in "Inverse" as one would expect, and so were Hiroshi and Masumi Sato. Originally from Japan "accomplished performers" Hiroshi and Masumi brought new meaning to the art of stealth while being seemingly effortless in movement. Solo performer, Joshua Green, who is learning dance at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, was eclectic and drew laughter when doing "Mea Culpa" in an exploitative, exotic exercise. The costume was original to say the least and one's concentration tended to waiver.

Choreography by Krishnan was exemplary all through but Shane Mongar's lighting left some questions unanswered about what was intended and what had to be concealed. Rex's costumes were original and one was hard-pressed to be a voyeur at some of the creations.

Soft-spoken but intense on stage, Krishnan's passion for the dance form is naturally fluid and seamless. Hari dances, choreographs, teaches both traditional Bharata Natyam and its more contemporary forms. A visiting professor at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, Hari holds a Master's Degree in Dance from York University, Toronto and a Master's in Religion and Philosophy from the University of Manitoba, Canada.