Śriyah

Written by Amiel Clarke | 01 September 2011

In the dance village of Nrityagram, students live solely to dance. It is therefore a great privilege to be able to see this community, who practice from dawn to dusk to achieve perfection, in the flesh, and in our fair city.

Performing a myriad of traditional dances to live music, Pavithra Reddy, Bijayini Satpathy and Surupa Sen have the audience gazing in awe at their perfectly synchronized, organic and fluid movements. Draped in beautiful traditional costumes with bells embellishing their every gesture and step this trio is truly mesmerizing. At once their bodies seem to merge with the earth, rooted by their deep plies and dyed feet, and also float in the air. The choreography works beautifully with both the percussive and melodic elements of the musical accompaniment.

I cannot fault the dancing: their exuberance and skill was astonishing, with the three individually and as a group forming the most intricate and powerful of poses.  Even their eyes, framed by deep kohl, were animated by the music and perfectly expressed the drama of each piece of choreography.

What undermined this performance was the setting. Stripped bare with a black backdrop, the stage felt so drab that even the spirited dancing couldn’t lift it. The lighting too was repetitive and very crude. As such, these elements reduced the impact of this performance rather than enhancing it.  A little thought would have added to the visual spectacle and made this show even better.

Śriyah, King’s Theatre, 26-29 August, times vary