Epic Journeys

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Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra revisits mythology as its summer ballet festival turns 10 todayA decade back the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra held its first festival of dance drama, calling it the summer ballet festival. On the culturista's calendar it marked not just the onset of summer, but also one of the last cultural events of the season in the city.Now, as the Kendra in Mandi House gears up for its 10 th anniversary shows, director Shobha Deepak Singh says, "We present four productions — one new, one revived, and the two old favourites— Karna and Meera — which we've been staging since the first festival in 2000."The festival started with Karna, performed in Mayurbhanj Chhau, an intensely masculine dance form from Orissa. It has been the Kendra's mainstay since 1977 when late dance exponent Krishna Chandra Naik taught here. "It is the onlyIndian dance form without any stylized abhinaya , every action is depicted literally," says Singh. Choreographed by Krishna Chandra and Shashidharan Naik, the piece is a "poetic and heart-rending" story of the Mahabharata hero and has always been a crowd-puller at previous festivals. With around 25 dancers on stage at once, it also has the largest cast among all the four pieces.The other story from Mahabharata is of Abhimanyu, Arjuna's son who dies while breaking through the chakravyuh , an impregnable war formation of the Kauravas. Abhimanyu is also presented in Mayurbhanj Chhau. Rajasthani dance forms like ghoomar and kalbelia tell the story of Mirabai in Meera, which will be staged on May 8 and 9. This piece, choreographed again by Shashidharan Nair, with music by Shubha Mudgal, takes an unconventional look at Meera-- for one, there is no Krishna in her life and, as Singh says forcefully: "Our Meera never cries, instead she takes on the male order. Her singing and dance signify female abandon."Parikrama , the final production of the festival, is the Kendra's newest work and uses modern dance, including yoga, to tell the story of the five senses and the five elements. Fire, for instance, is depicted on stage entirely by the female dances, using their hair as symbols. The dances are performed by members of the Kendra's repertory and students.

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