True expressions of love
AMRITA TALWAR
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The dance drama ‘Romeo and Juliet: A Musical’ was a successful attempt at blending the creativity of Shakespeare and Tagore.
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Intense choreography and dancers soaring in the air blended with the Tagore style
Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma
In rhythm “Romeo and Juliet” on stage.
Separated by centuries and cultures, poets William Shakespeare and Rabindranath Tagore have penned some of the most splendid lines on love. Fascinated by their prose, Kolkata-based choreographer Debrup Roy tried to bring together their work on a comm
on platform and blend their creativity. The result was the hour-long dance drama ‘Romeo and Juliet: A Musical’ performed at the India Habitat Centre this past week. This is the first time such a showtook place in India.
Roy performed with his group Taal the Beat. He mixed theatre and acting and danced to Rabindra Sangeet. “This musical is the first of its kind. The group of 13 performed 12 Tagore songs and scenes from the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’. We have tried to blend Shakespeare’s and Tagore’s expressions of love.” While Roy played Romeo, his wife Rituparna enacted Juliet.
The birth of the concept
Roy’s fascination with this play dates back to school. “Studying in the 12th standard, I was fascinated by the play’s balcony scene in our text, and the Tagore song, “Badhu kon alo laglo chokhe/bujhi dipti rooe chhile surjo lok-e (Friend, which light struck your eyes…)” The concept was etched in my mind and it stayed over my dancing years at Rabindra Bharati University. I found them so similar.”
The English dialogues have been combined with Bengali songs to give an Indian flavour to the English story. However, the music was recorded separately in a studio. Special effects were created on the stage. The lighting and costumes were quite impressive. The event was jointly organised by Impresario India and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
According to Impresario’s Bijon Mukherji, “Initially we were a little apprehensive whether the audience would accept this mix or not. But the response was amazing. They thoroughly enjoyed the show.”
Intense choreography and dancers soaring in the air blended with the Tagore style. Says Rituparna, who is also a Kathakali dancer, “I have used facial expressions according to Tagore songs but applied Western dance movements in our leg movements.”
The costumes too had a Western touch. “It was an interesting and intense experiment and we hope that we can carry the same to other parts of the country as well.”
Contemporary dance maestro Narendra Sharma was also present at the event. “To produce a ballet on such a scale is expensive and still the enthusiasm to experiment and innovate remains infectious,” he said.
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