CLASSICALLY CONTEMPORARY

Bharatanatyam exponent Lata Pada shares a unique bond with her art form: that of enrichment and excellence, with each one drawing excellence from one another.

Bharatanatyam exponent Lata Pada shares a unique bond with her art form: that of enrichment and excellence, with each one drawing excellence from one another. If dance has reasserted her individuality, towering above personal loss, she has enriched and internationalised it with her passion and commitment. Lata, the artistic director of Canada-based Sampradaya Creations, is a leading choreographer who presented two of her widely acclaimed creations 8211; Vivarta: Manifestations of Vishnu and HowZaat! 8211; at the Natarani in Ahmedabad on Wednesday evening.

While Vivarta 8211; based on 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu 8212; is purely classical Bharatanatyam in its format, HowZaat! 8211; that celebrates the game of cricket 8211; synthesizes the classical dance form with cricket movements. The two performances, which are touring eight cities courtesy the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, mark Lata8217;s innovative artistry in being rooted to traditionalism and yet finding wings in upholding contemporary ideas.

HowZaat!, she says 8220;is a satirical look at the world of cricket explored through the subtext of colonialism, politics and popular culture8221;. So, is it a fusion of Bharatanatyam and cricket movements? 8220;You may say so, but I would rather call it an intersection of the two,8221; she differs.

Lata, originally from Bangalore, has made Canada her home for over four decades now, but flies back to India every year for artistic and spiritual rejuvenation.

8220;I meet my gurus, collaborate with artists, musicians and playwrights in India as well as abroad. Since I8217;m also a teacher, I need to keep learning because an artist never gets the feeling of having acquired enough knowledge,8221; she says.

Trained under eminent gurus Kalaimamani Kalyanasundaram and Padmabhushan Kalanidhi Narayanan, Lata8217;s first major innovative choreography has been the multi-media dance-theatre performance Revealed by Fire.

This autobiographical piece weaves together her experience of personal loss she had lost her husband and two young daughters in the Air India8217;s Kanishka crash in 1985 with dance, music and video images. It is an important production not merely because 8220;it was a cathartic experience8221; for Lata, but also because it heralded a new phase for her dance: that of experimentations.

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Through her company, she has been able to give due recognition to the dance form beyond the Indian shores. 8220;In Canada, art is very corporatised, your productivity and quality is constantly examined. So, it8217;s tough to get to a level for recognition and we8217;re glad that we8217;ve achieved that through honest and quality works,8221; she says.

Creating on issues or subjects concerning the identity of women is what she loves most, an example being Soraab 8212; a dance drama based on her memories associated with an Afghan woman and set in the backdrop of an oppressive environ.

Lata8217;s next creation would be called Samvaad showcasing African-Canadian, Indo-Canadian and first-native Canadian culture. By 2010, she8217;ll be choreographing something entirely different, a historical narrative, planning for which is under way. We only hope to watch more of such creative spectacles8230;