India Post News Service
LOS ANGELES: UCLA Live presented the US premiere of "Sacred Monsters," featuring supremely skilled, British-Bangladeshi dancer-choreographer Akram Khan. and Rudolf Nureyev protégé and celebrated international ballerina Sylvie Guillem.
The dance event, at Royce Hall, was an exhilarating exploration of the boundaries and synergy between two classical dance forms, kathak from the Mughal courts and Western ballet. "Sacred Monsters" showcased ballet and kathak disciplines separately and in combination, translating pure dance, lyrical gymnastic movement, spectacular control of bodies, consummate in the self realization of two distinct art forms blending seamlessly.
Schooled in different classical traditions, the artists in a 70 minute performance reaffirmed that one is always fascinated at the stunning possibilities of collaboration when a new creative world can be set in motion.
Akram and Guillem explored their own heritage grounded in solid classical structure and then adroitly mirrored each other in a contemporary spectrum of instinctive fusion of diverse elements. Guillem's confident and skilful moves were highlighted in an early meditative solo created by modernist Taiwanese choreographer Lin Hwai-Min, artistic director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre.
Khan's kathak solo, choreographed by Gauri Sharma Tripathi, delivered fiery, mathematical, dazzling movement, and soon both vaulted into a weightless, delirious performance piece as the artists escaped the boundaries of individual styles, and audiences were transported by the unison choreography, inventive ploys and sensational choreography.
After a concentrated and focused item, the atmosphere suddenly would tumble into total informality with the artists, Khan and Guillem speaking to each other, wiping the sweat off their faces, dashing across the stage, sitting in an intimate corner, explaining their personal stories and concerns, or playfully teasing each other. Akram, the kathak dancer even wore a T shirt over trousers. And yet the moment his feet stamped out the first rhythm, the audience was mesmerized by a pure kathak interpretation of a classic vocabulary from India.
The evening ended all too soon, with many curtain calls from a rapturous audience who took back with them, a memory of an exceptional program and the extraordinary intuition of Khan and Guillem who never hesitated to acknowledge their influences. "Sacred Monsters" was performed to live music by an ensemble led by brilliant cellist and prolific recording artist Philip Sheppard who composed the music using additional material adapted from songs by Iva Bittová, Nando Acquaviva and Toni Casalonga.
The group also included Alies Sluiter on violin, Coordt Linke, percussion, and the effortless voices of Faheem Mazhar and Juliette Van Peteghem.
Print
Top
