Erasing the boundary

Experiments in Bharatanatyam by a bunch of young dancers give rise to a new production

Side by side The production depicts how a friend would always stand by her Sakhi

Vyuti Dance Company began to develop its own group margam two years ago with an allaripu, jatiswaram and a tillana; it now attempts to incorporate more of abhinaya and narrative segments to its unique repertoire.

With its new production Sakhi, the company explores ways to present nritya and natya elements in the style it has evolved.

Sakhi portrays female friendships where friends of eight different nayikas display their unconditional love for the well-being of their respective partners. “There is something sacred about friendships between women that is less explored in dance. No matter what goes on in one’s life and other relationships, it is friendship that stays unstained which I wanted to take up,” says Aranyani, Artistic Director, Vyuti Dance Company.

Vyuti margam is unique in the sense that though it employs contemporary dance concepts and modern themes, its vocabulary is rooted deeply in the classical. The need to explore a new repertoire in Bharatanatyam came when Aranyani observed the lack of communicative movement in a group item. That is when she began to think of ‘ways to make group production more lively and interactive’.

Firstly, she feels, dancers can interact with each other not just while recreating a prasanga but in the parts of nritta too. “They need not always present everything facing the audience,” she says. The current production effectively deploys this idea as it consciously drifts from the notion of ‘frontality’ of performance. Secondly, “I wanted to bring the element of touch into the domain of Indian classical dance where physical proximity is not the norm,” says Aranyani who is trained in both Bharatanatyam and contemporary dance.

“Once I incorporated both, the items suddenly began to look stunningly candid,” says Aranyani, who has resorted to minimalistic approach in her choreography for all the Vyuti productions.

Although she understands that pushing boundaries is risky, she is happy that her experiments are gaining ground as the repertoire is receiving a positive response from the audience and dance fraternity in India and abroad.

The ensemble which currently comprises of nine dancers will present Sakhi for the second time in Bangalore at Shoonya, Lalbagh road, Bangalore on June 22, 7 p.m. The donor passes are priced at ₹400 and can be bought at the venue.