Dancing their way to global integration, on-line

MUMBAI, June 2: In an unusual attempt at global integration, dancers from different parts of the world will perform simultaneously on June 7...

MUMBAI, June 2: In an unusual attempt at global integration, dancers from different parts of the world will perform simultaneously on June 7. The venue is one never used before for such an endeavour: the Internet.At 12 noon GMT on Sunday, viewers can log on to the Net and watch dancers performing in different parts of the United States, Anchorage in Alaska, South Africa, Slovenia, Argentina, Chile, Kenya and India.

This means at 5.30 pm Indian Standard Time, Mumbai-based dancer Prakriti Kashyap will be performing Bharatnatyam and Chau at the National Centre for Software Technology, Juhu.

Dancers from countries which do not have a live on-line facility will send in pre-recorded performances which will be displayed simultaneously. Depending on the size of the computer screen, up to 14 dancers can be viewed at the same time. For those with multi-media facility, the experience of watching and listening to the range of performances will be unique.

There will be traditional as well as contemporary, soloas well as small group performances. This World Wide Simultaneous Dance event has been developed by choreographer Laura Knott in collaboration with Do While Studio, a non-profit artist-run facility based in Boston.

The idea for the event struck Knott years ago, when she thought of teaching a brief dance item to people around the world, who would then perform it simultaneously. But Knott says her interest in travelling and 8220;spreading her own personality8221; waned gradually as she grew eager to find out what other dancers had to say.

Another reason was that the Internet had failed to be the 8220;democratising and equalising world force8221; it had promised to be. Working within the restrictions of bandwidth and availability, I8217;m interested in finding out if it8217;s really possible to give someone the experience of the art moment8217; the moment when a work of art somehow changes a person when that person is sitting in front of a computer screen,8221; Knott says.

The cost of the project works out to nearly 5,000 USRs 210,000, quite negligible for a project of this magnitude. 8220;This is because only the person who programmed the web pages has been paid yet. Communication too has been cheaper due to e-mail connections. Much of the equipment for the project was donated or sold to us at greatly reduced cost. Do While Studio donated space to work, wonderful technical help and equipment,8221; explains Knott.

Story continues below this ad

Dancers have been given the theme of 8220;PLACE 8211; This is me, dancing where I am,8221; which they will depict in their own styles.

Kashyap, for instance, will begin with a 12-minute Bharatnatyam piece, as the style represents India. Then, during the eight-minute break during which she changes into her Chau costume, a pre-recorded recital will be connected on-line. Kashyap sees the event as her tribute to India in the 50th year of its independence. As for dancers across the globe, Knott says, 8220;We8217;ll know that at one point in our lives, there were people dancing with us all over the world.8221;

To view the event, downloadthe free Visit videoconferencing software at dowhile.org. While the browser is open, viewers can also open 1Visit