Dance Connections

As the dancers leaped,swooped,stretched and pranced around the wooden box pews,the audience stood near the altar to watch this intimate piece that took them away from the din outside. “As a contrast to big-scale events,I have chosen an intimate piece by making six women dance in the traditional pews of historic churches,” says Jeyasingh,who has united Indian classical dance elements with contemporary aesthetics to present the piece in several London churches,as part of London Olympics 2012 Festival,which began on June 21. After a series of performances at St. Mary’s Church between June 28 and 30 and at St. Pancreas Church on July 14,Jeyasingh will now perform at St. Swithun’s Church,Worcester,between July 19 and 21.

“The committee of the Cultural Olympiad had approached me some time back. It is a privilege to be part of the Olympics cultural extravaganza that celebrates human creativity and achievement in the arts,” says Jeyasingh,who grew up in a Tamil house where Bharatanatyam happened by default. But she turned to academics and left India to study English literature in England. After she discovered that she wanted to dance and teach for the rest of her life,she founded Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company in 1988 and has,since then,composed some interesting pieces of art that have been performed around the world.

Her recent performances have been appreciated by critics and audiences alike. Too Mortal explores the frailty as well as the strength of human nature,in the same piece. Jeyasingh says she chose the church as it is packed with imagery — where every stone reeks of religious history and meaningful architecture. The piece draws from the history-laden overtones of such buildings and “makes us think of our own mortality and journey in life”.

The costumes have been designed by Ursula Bombshell,who has made the performers wear crimson tunics and purple leggings — both the colours considered churchly and clerical. The six girls will throw themselves in a world of abandon as the background music — a mix of church bells — is played. The music has been composed by James MacMillan — a celebrated composer from Scotland,while the lighting design is by Amsterdam-based Yaron Abulafia. The dancers have been cautioned not to cross the aisle and restrict themselves to the wooden pews. But “freedom” is palpable in their movements. “Although the piece is performed in different churches,it is always performed inside the pews,” says Jeyasingh.

Although Jeyasingh is inspired by various forms of choreography,she dismisses the idea of embracing Western idioms. “Contemporary dance is a global genre,which tries to express through dance the pluralism of ‘city living’. Since I have always lived in cities,my choreography reflects both my history and the new global influences,” she concludes.