Telling a story, especially to an audience that may or may not understand the intricacies of a dance form, is always a gamble. But during their Chennai stop of their tour of India, the Gloria Mandelik Dance Company almost made one believe in princesses, celestial chariots, magical talking animals and spirits. The Spanish dance company opened with The Castle of a Hundred Windows at the Music Academy on Tuesday. The story of Bashtet, the magical cat, revolves around her transforming into a princess to find her prince, and how she loses him. When she goes looking for him with her spirit, she is invited by the princesses of the sun and moon to a dance in a magnificent ballroom, where she finds her prince again. But it turns out that she is invisible. She prays to goddess Parvati to make her visible to reunite with her love. When everyone suddenly disappears into thin air and she returns to being just a black cat, Bashtet is left to wonder about her reverie, whether or not to go back to the outside world or stay sheltered within the palace. The portrayal of the sorrow, happiness, love and limitless opportunities that the windows in her castle represented were impressive in so many ways. The routines of the black cat in her jet black bodysuit were well-choreographed with the obvious addition of pas da basques (jump of a cat). The foites of the sun princess were nearly perfect, strong and a delight to watch. And when all the characters came together on the stage in the ballroom scene, it was a riot of faultlessly synchronised arabesques, altitudes, jetes and pirouettes. In their second number Thirmanam, dancers explored the rhythm of bharatanatyam, interpreting the beats with ballet, flamenco and bharatanatyam itself. The foreign dancers were joined by an agile Divya Shiva Sundar for this piece. It was a visual delight when the women dancers, all dressed in the same shade of vibrant pink, performed their respective dances to traditional Indian music and were interrupted by the blur of a male dancer dressed in a silk angavasthram, effortlessly leaping across the floor. The solo flamenco performance by Silvia Pinar beautifully captured the way the Spanish literary character Carmen longs for love, but enjoys her freedom at the same time. The solo by Xavier Benaque, for his strong demeanor and brilliant feet, is a must mention. The final act that paid homage to the five elements of nature was a fitting finish. Each element was portrayed using a different style of dance, all of which beautifully stressed the symbolism of different human races being equal. The interdependence of the elements were skillfully brought out on stage, with bharatanatyam dancer Anand Satchidanandan shining as the earth. The elements prostrated themselves before ether, the universal protective mother. When the routine ended with ether blessing the elements with an act of dhrishti, one had to but come to the conclusion that dance was indeed a universal language.
Comments
0 comment