Bhoomija presents a dance choreography, Ahuti in Bengaluru this weekend. The dance will feature the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble and The Chitrasena Dance Company from Sri Lanka.
Ahuti, a collaboration between Odissi and Kandyan dance, is set to rhythms from both countries. It has music composed by Raghunath Panigrahi and will feature Surupa Sen, Pavithra Reddy, Anoushka Rahman, Rohini Banerjee and Daquil Miriyala from Nrityagram, while the Sri Lankan dancers will be Thaji Dias, Kushan Dharmarathna, and Amandi Gomez.
The dance is choreographed by Nrityagram’s artistic director, Surupa Sen and Chitrasena’s Heshma Wignaraja is the associate choreographer. Surupa will also lead the manjira for the show and will present a solo dance from Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda, called Dhira Samire.
Āhuti is the second collaboration between the two dance schools, the first being Samhara (2012). While Nrityagram is an over 30-year-old classical dance school that offers residency to students, started by the Late Protima Gauri, Chitrasena Dance Company is one of Sri Lanka’s oldest dance companies. It was founded in 1943 by Chitrasena, and the company has been crucial in finding a modern, international stage for Sri Lanka’s traditional dance forms. Heshma Wignaraja is the current artistic director of the company.
Surupa Sen
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Over a call from Nrityagram in Hesaraghatta, Surupa, explains how the collaboration between the two schools came to be. “We have known each other for more than 15 years and started collaborating after five years of staying in each other’s countries, exchanging cultures, dancing and studying each other’s forms.”
That was when, Surupa said they felt that there was a possibility of the two styles complimenting each other and they started working together. “We wanted to start on something that would either become stage worthy or not. We were willing to make that investment, thinking that at least the process will be enriching. This led us to live together for almost eight to nine months. That is how Samhara was conceived.”
The choreography, Surupa says is not a fusion, but a work that shows a great respect for both the dance forms, which are ritual-based and originated in temples. “We decided to find a musical connection. When we got an overwhelming response to Samhara, we decided to invest in a second collaboration and Ahuti was the result. Ahuti, is a step forward from Samhara, an evolution of the same collaboration.”
Dance choreography, Surupa says, is where both forms can respond spontaneously. “We find a starting point, which is comfortable for the artistes and the form. With Ahuti, the vision is mine and I knew exactly what I wanted when it came to the movement, the body line and the angles. This was the basis on which everything else was built.”
Having worked with Heshma in the past, Surupa says, there is an ease of collaboration. “She knows how I think and work. We both share a similar work ethic and once the vision is set, everything else falls in place. The Kandyan form is created by them.”
Surupa, who is also a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, says Odissi has completely conquered her heart. “I am grateful for what Bharatanatyam taught me as a child. I have, however, been dancing Odissi for over 35 years, and this is what I will be doing for the rest of my life. This is also my way of propagating this form and trying to keep alive the legacy of my guru, Gauri ma (as Protima was fondly called)”.
The journey, she says, has been tough. “Gauri ma went so early and I wanted to ensure her vision did not fall apart. I did my best to do justice to something that I was given so generously. It is tough to make a living out of art. On the other hand I also feel blessed to have been given a space like Nrityagram which allowed me to dedicate myself to art. The place separates you from the daily pressures of life . It is hard here, but it is also like an incubation, where you live, breathe and grow in dance.”
They have kept Protima’s legacy going with residential classes, Surupa says. “The ensemble features our residential students. We also have free weekend classes for the people from around Hesaraghatta.”
On why one does not see many Nrityagram performances in Bengaluru, Surupa says, “We need someone to invite us to perform. The Bengaluru performance of Ahuti represents a wrap. We finished our US tour with the dance and wanted to honour the city in which we live with our dance. After this, we will be travelling to present the same show in Colombo. This dance in Bengaluru is special to all of us as dancers.”
Ahuti will be presented at Chowdiah Memorial Hall on April 12, 7.30pm. Tickets, priced ₹500 upwards, available on BookMyShow.