Dance has always been used as a powerful medium to highlight the issues faced by the society. In the upcoming edition of Kendra Dance Festival, renowned dance groups will blend Indian mythology and folklore to highlight contemporary issues. This will also be the first time when ballet groups who have not been part of Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra will also perform.
According to Shobha Deepak Singh, director of the kala kendra, the idea to include diverse ballet productions was to familiarise people with the talent that exists across the country. “People in Delhi believe that the best talents only exist in Delhi. However, that's not the case. Since they haven't seen these performances, we wanted to familiarise them with the talent that exists beyond Delhi and hence choreographers and performers outside the Kendra will also stage their productions,” she said.
This year's festival will see three in-house dance-drama ballet productions titled Durga, Meera and Kaalchakra, directed by Singh. The groups who are not part of the Kendra include productions by Samudra, Justin McCarthy and Kumudini Lakhia. While Kerala-based production Samudra will showcase creative dance forms of south India that are choreographed by Madhu Gopinath and Vakkom Sajeev, Justin McCarthy will bring Bharatnatyam and Kadam will enthral audiences with a Kathak performance choreographed by Kumudini Lakhia.
Commenting on the performances of the in-house productions, Singh said: “Our in house production, Durga, is tackling real issues such as rape and child abuse as it narrates the story of Durga killing Mahishasura. Meera, on the other hand, will be portrayed as a strong character, where her dancing and singing will be symbolic of female abandon. Whereas, Kaalchakra will trace the journey of the soul.”
While Meera and Durga have been a constant on the Kendra ballet circuit, Kaalchakra has made a return after a decade. Kaalchakra commences with the Hiranyagarbh or the golden egg. It is the story of the journey of the soul and how it travels on after going through all the five elements and how it enters a woman's body through the womb and when the child is born, it becomes the victim of the five senses. When the five senses take over humans, it wishes to return. Again, it crosses the five elements, completing a full Kaalchakra.
Kendra Dance Festival will be held from May 9-19 at the Kamani Auditorium from 7pm onwards. It will start with Meera on May 9, Kaalchakra on May 11, Durga on May 12, Samudranatanam-Jalam on May 17, choreographic works by Justin McCarthy on May 18 and will end with Movement And Still on May 19. The festival also commemorates Dr Charat Ram’s birth centenary.