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Journalism of Courage
Every so often,an Indian classical dancer looks towards the heat and dust of Kurukshetra,where Krishna and Arjuna were locked in a debate of duty and wisdom. Last week,Bhubaneshwar-based Odissi dancer Ileana Citaristi revisited the battlefield through her new choreography Parthasarathi,during a dance recital with her troupe Art Vision at the Kamani auditorium. The show was organized by the Italian Cultural Centre.
Parthasarathi,a piece dominated by abhinaya,was a vigorous rendition,especially in the power-packed ending. But Citaristi wasnt done yet,her solos Pallavi and Sharanam explored the gamut of the Odissi vocabulary. Though I am trained in Chhau,I am not in favour of mixing dance forms, she says,explaining why her pieces are always purely classical rather than experimental. Citaristi is an Italian national who moved to India in 1979 to learn Odissi. She is today one of the foremost dancers in the field and has been awarded with a Padmashri among other honours.
Citaristi however,innovates in her choreography in Sharanam,she explores the stories of Mary Magdalene,Amrapali and Pingala to show how courtesans of various religions find salvation in the Almighty. The various pieces performed in the evening were derived from inspirations as varied as contemporary poetry to mythology,but they were all marked by a sense of optimism created through the picture perfect choreography. Dipanita Nath
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