Italy-born Ileana Citaristi has long called India her home. Awarded the Padma Shri recently, Ileana who has a Doctorate in Philosophy, has mastered a range of classical Indian dance forms — Odissi, Kathakali and Chaau. She presented ‘Shraddhanjali', a tribute to her guru Kelucharan Mohapatra at Kolkata recently. In an interview, she talks about life in the world of dance in her adopted country. Excerpts:
What made you accept India and her people as your own?
Dance has always remained the centre of all my activities. The passion for dance has been the medium for understanding the Indian culture and the people and in accepting them as my own.
Looking back, do you think you achieved what you desired from dance?
Many targets have been achieved and some others are still there. But the greatest achievement has been to find the form of expression I was searching for.
The journey could not have been smoother....
It has not been easy for me to find a space as a performer in the competitive world of dance; the fact that I am not Indian proved to be an obstacle in the beginning. It made the process much slower. I had to be patient and gradually conquer my space day by day.
What was your feeling when you were conferred the Padma Shri?
It was one of the greatest moments of my life. I can't say that things changed much after that or became easier, but that moment was certainly worth it.
Why did you choose Odissi and not any other classical form?
That happened by chance. My Kathakali guru in Kerala suggested that I visit Orissa. And once I reached Orissa and met Guru Kelucharan, I never looked back.
What made you learn Chhau?
In Chhau, I found the grammar of movement that I was searching for in my theatre experiences after meeting theatre directors Jerzy Grotowski and Eugenio Barba in the early 1980s.
Where does your heart lie, in Odissi or in Chhau?
In Odissi definitely. But it was through Chhau that my creativity came to the fore.
You have worked on non-traditional themes as well....
The first was ‘Echo and Narcissus' on the Greek myth found in the ‘Metamorphoses' by Ovid. After that, I composed ‘The Journey' based on Japanese haikus, ‘Images of Change' based on the concept of Yin and Yang of the Chinese philosophy and ‘Still I Rise', based on a poem by Maya Angelou. All these were solo items that used Chhau techniques.
Of late, you have been working on socio-religious themes. ‘Karuna' on Mother Teresa was a landmark production. What made you choose such topics?
‘Karuna' and ‘Sharanam' have a message to convey and this makes the effort more rewarding. As a dancer, you feel more useful to society if you are able to not only entertain people but also make them reflect on certain issues.
So your determination brought you here…
I believe in destiny but also in the fact that you have to have the courage to follow your destiny.
You have not written any book after ‘The Making of a Guru.' Any specific reason?
Actually, two books are on the anvil. One is about the evolution from the Paik or martial dance of Orissa to the Chhau dance from the kinetic and socio-historical point of view, and the other is an autobiography.
