Shamitha Hettige and Vithya Arasu will carry out Anurakti at Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association
Anurakti, an Indo-Srilankan dance manufacturing by the rising choreographer-dancer couple Shamitha Hettige and Vithya Arasu is about to be staged in Bengaluru on August 26 on the Yuva Patha auditorium, Jayanagar, as a part of the Aaveshika Yatra Pageant – 2023, and in Hyderabad on September 2 on the Phoenix Enviornment, Hitech Metropolis.
Anurakti is a Sanskrit phrase that connotes love and devotion. Throughout a dialog with the artistes, the story of this collaboration unfolded. The essence of Anurakti resonates in some ways within the themes chosen for stage and within the inventive course of off-stage as nicely.
Vithya Arasu.
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association
First collaboration
Shamitha Hettige is a Kandyan and modern dancer whereas Vithya Arasu is a Bharatanatyam, Bharatanrityam and Odissi dancer. . As their wedding ceremony date was drawing close to, the 2 have been additionally planning their first collaboration, Anurakti, on the theme of Shiva-Parvati. As its first piece, they selected the Shiva Tandav stotra. Although the stotra has been composed by many musicians and carried out by a number of dancers earlier than, the duo was eager to work by itself interpretation, each in music and choreography. From their dwelling in Colombo, they began working with classical and people musicians in Srilanka and India and after a number of iterations and lots of months, they arrived at a composition that they have been enthusiastic about. It makes use of Srilankan rhythm patterns and Carnatic music and was first choreographed and carried out as a 15-minute piece.
Upon coming back from their wedding ceremony, they labored on the second piece centred on Parvati – the Omkar Karini. For the third and remaining piece, they selected the Ardhanarishwara stotra. Because the duo found Shiva-Parvati, they discovered that their interpretation was not a lot a reward of Shiva or Parvati, it was an interaction between spouses, a dialog between highly effective characters, an interplay between two forces of nature, with themes of romance and resistance, teasing and reasoning, admiration in addition to give up . The choreography and rehearsal was a studying and instructing expertise for each, as they exchanged experience from one another’s previous coaching.
Shamitha Hettige.
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association
Seamless synergy
The ultimate manufacturing brings collectively Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Mohiniattam, Vilasini Natyam, Mayurbhanj Chhau from India, and Kandyan, Sambaragamua natum and Pahatarata natum dance kinds from Srilanka. Quite a lot of musical devices such because the veena, flute, mridangam, kanjira from India and geta beraya, pahatharata beraya, thammettama, udekkiya, daula, gehula from Srilanka have additionally come for use.
On being requested why they selected to incorporate so many music and dance kinds in a single manufacturing, the reply was fast and easy. “(Between the 2 of us) we’ve got skilled in all these kinds and at each level, we selected the kinds that got here to us naturally, as we sat in silence and listened to the music.” On the level the place years of coaching turns to instinct and there’s no actual reply to ‘why this?’, artwork and collaboration emerge and so it appears with this manufacturing.
Shamitha and Vithya have staged Anurakti at totally different venues and festivals together with Nritya Samarpana Dance pageant in Coimbatore, Tantrotsav pageant in Puducherry and on the Kapaleeshwarar temple in Chennai. In October this yr, they are going to be performing Anurakti in Germany, Switzerland, Spain and the Netherlands.
Dance workshops
In a brand new type of collaboration, they are going to be bringing their college students from Europe to be a part of their presentation. They converse passionately about instructing and wherever they journey, in addition they conduct workshops alongside their performances. Learn how to strategy motion mindfully with breath method? Learn how to enhance stage consciousness? Learn how to construct energy, flexibility, mobility, management and keep stability of the physique and thoughts as an artiste? These are a number of the questions that they’ve addressed in designing their ‘Anga Pravaaha’ workshops.
Between August 26 and September 2, Shamitha and Vithya will likely be conducting Anga Pravaaha and Natyashastra workshops in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune and Mumbai. In Hyderabad, they can even be instructing a workshop for youngsters the place they’ll introduce them to Indian classical dance via the grammar of animal actions. The duo have been lauded for his or her finesse of type, energy and charm of motion as performers and for his or her nuanced and devoted strategy to instructing.
Glimpses of their dance, their dance faculty ‘Natya Kala Vidyalaya’, particulars about workshop registrations and donour passes for Anurakti may be discovered on their social media handles.