In the Groove

Fluid moves and interesting choreography marked the first day of the Narendra Sharma Festival of Dance,held in the memory of a dancer who was an integral part of Indias cultural history.

Fluid moves and interesting choreography marked the first day of the Narendra Sharma Festival of Dance,held in the memory of a dancer who was an integral part of Indias cultural history. Sharmas composition,Hans Balaka,opened the concert with young dancers bringing alive the Balinese mood,which had inspired the piece. Through modern dance movements,mixed with the sounds of tabla and flute,the piece told the story of Siberian cranes flying to their destination.

The festival is meant to be a platform for creative youngsters, says Bharat Sharma,Director of Bhoomika Centre for Creative Dance,a dance company that Sharma had set up in 1972. The festival is being organised by Bhoomika in association with the cultural organisation,Indian Impresario.

The inaugural day also included a tribute to renowned Pakistani musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. I wanted to experiment on translating Khans songs on to the dance stage. I also wanted a break from the serious dances that I compose. Nusrat song is the outcome of a two-month-long preparation and what better day to showcase it than Valentines Day,says Sharma,adding,Nusrat song,an ode to love,is an exploration of eternal values of man and woman,of purush and prakriti,or whichever way one could view relationships.

The one and half-hour-long event ended with a dance collage by Danceworx. The performances ranged from lyrical jazz to modern contemporary dance pieces.

Encouragingly for the dancers,a sizeable audience filled the hall,with Oleksandr Shevchenko,Ambassador of Ukraine,and wife as the chief guests.

The reporter is a student of Express Institute of Media Studies

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram