Dancer
Shoma Kaikini, along with her troupe, 'Nrityanidhi',
combines Sufi with Kathak movements to uplift an audience
By Shevlin Sebastian
When
dancer Shoma Kaikini went to Nanning, China, to perform in
the International
Folk Song Art Festival, a few years ago, she felt arrogant. “Our
culture was thousands of years old,” she says. “I felt we are
the best.” But there were participants from 36 countries including
Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Australia, Indonesia, France, Denmark and
Argentina. “When I saw the performances of the other countries, I
fell flat on my face,” she says. “That was when I realised that
the world is filled with so much of art and culture.”
One
of the reasons was because of the colourful costumes. “The people
loved the jewellery, make-up and hair,” she says. “The audience,
which was mostly Chinese, would indicate, through sign language, that
they loved our performance. There were tears in their eyes. It was
one of the most memorable experiences of my life.”
The
Nrityanidhi troupe plays a mix of Sufi, Bharatanatyam and Kathak
dances, accompanied by soft, meditative and soulful songs.
“When
I listen to a song, I allow the movement to flow into the dance,”
says Shoma, who is the troupe's choreographer. “I
tell the dancers that choreography and dance are something that flows
from the spirit.”
Shoma
and her troupe had recently come to Kochi to give a performance
called 'Asmi' ('I am' in Sanskrit) – A Voyage Towards The Self', in
which they did dances with a mix of Sufi and Kathak.
“The
core of Sufism is a never-ending search of the truth, of divine
energy,” says Shoma. “In Sufism, you experience a total surrender
to God.”
But
they danced to songs from contemporary films like 'Maula Mere' from
the film, 'Anwar' and 'Iktara' from 'Wake up Sid'. And it turned out
to be soulful and tranquility-inducing: the gentle movements of the
arms, taking a few steps forward, then back, the pirouetting with
other partners, and the playful looks on the faces.
“People
are under so much stress and strain that our performance gives some
kind of peace to them,” says Shoma. Recently, when they performed
at Bangalore, a woman came up to Shoma, and said, “It felt like as
if your soul had come out of the body, and was travelling among the
audience. That was the kind of energy we felt.”
At
Kochi, audience member Dr. Puneet Dhar says, “It was a reinvention
of Kathak. I have always watched Kathak dances along with live music.
This was the first time recorded music was used, but since the
acoustics was superb, nothing was missed. I also enjoyed the unusual
combination of Sufi and Kathak. The secular mix was heart-warming.”
(Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)
No comments:
Post a Comment