From ‘ARISI’, a cross-cultural collaborative mission
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association
Inventive collaborations can work splendidly when East meets East. That is what occurred on the Esplanade, Singapore, when Apsaras Arts joined fingers with Balinese dancers, Singapore dramaturgy consultants, lighting and set designers, and the Singapore Chinese language orchestra. The connecting thread was the well-researched theme: Rice (‘Arisi’ in Tamil), the day by day life-giver of the East, and the core of custom and celebration.
Aravinth Kumarasamy, creative director, Apsaras Arts, introduced collectively inventive minds, together with Lim Ho Ngean, I Wayan Dibia and Mohanapriyan Tavarajah, for the manufacturing. Bharatanatyam dancers of Singapore and India, and Balinese dancers set the stage afire. There was by no means a boring second with swift costume modifications and entries and exits. The Indian group got here up with a veriety of actions that went the past the classical. When the Balinese dancers took the stage a uncommon homogeneous visible emerged. And when the 2 teams danced collectively, responding to one another’s musical custom, they drew a picturesque canvas.
Significant imageries
Vignettes the place rice performs a major position in life had been strung collectively. For example a toddler being taught to jot down Tamil alphabets on rice unfold on the ground and a toddler being taught the primary dance steps (theyya theyi) by stamping on a heap of husk that shapes into alarippu had been cleverly choreographed People songs in Tamil introduced alive the dance depiction of loss of life, start, harvest, local weather change and many others. There have been some enjoyable moments too when the Balinese dancers playfully threw rice muffins at one another.
The choreography by Mohanapriyan, who has put collectively a number of new works for Apsaras Arts, had many distinctive moments. The costumes not solely showcased the textile custom of India and Bali however had been additionally an integral a part of the narrative.
The captions explaining every act had been helpful in understanding the position of rice in our lives, together with the sociological side when folks hand over agriculture to pursue different jobs elsewhere.
Rajkumar Bharathi and Sai Shravanam have offered appropriate musical assist. Singapore Chinese language orchestra and the Balinese musical excerpts added color to the soundscape.
This assessment is among the final items written by dancer-scholar Lakshmi Viswanathan.