When experimental dancer-choreographer Daksha Sheth combined the movements of Kathak with Mallakhamb in her production ‘Sarpagati’, it was a leap of imagination.
At Mumbai’s Royal Opera House, today, the final act of ‘Ancient Acrobatics: An Evening of Music and Mallakhamb’, will unveil how the 12th century sport of Mallakhamb, devised originally as an exercise for wrestlers and warriors, has been turned into performance art.
It’s a unique show where the pole is the protagonist. Fwive Mallakhamb artistes — Akshay Taral, Atharva Angre, Preetesh Gamre, Kalpesh Jadhav and Ashwinkumar Rawal — will slide, climb, jump, twirl and balance on it to demonstrate daring feats that will leave the audience awestruck.
The work titled ‘Mallakhamb Mumbai’ is an Indo-Australia collaborative project that was commissioned for and performed at the Commonwealth Games Festival 2018 held in Gold Coast, Australia. It was also performed at the 2019 Sydney Festival in January. Later this year, the ensemble will tour Europe and North America.
The act has been choreographed by Australian artistic director Benjamin Knapton, who has worked across theatre, contemporary circus and film, with the Mumbai-based team, MallakhambIndia, that has been performing for over 15 years and has participated in various International reality television shows.
From being taught to Peshwa Baji Rao II by his teacher Balambhatta Dada Deodhar, who is credited with reviving the sport, Mallakhamb has reinvented itself as a popular fitness and art activity, with many training centres spread across the country, especially Maharashtra.
Australian artistic director Benjamin Knapton
Talking about creating the piece, Benjamin Knapton describes the experience as “thrilling”. “It’s contemporary but also deeply connected to the past, and showcases the participating artistes’ arduous training and passion. When you have artistes who are ready to go that extra mile to reach out through their skill, it makes it easy for any artistic director,” says Ben.
Having worked with Mallakhamb on a number of shows over the past few years, he finds it a fascinating practice.
“I am most interested by its fierce discipline and its basis in tradition while at the same time being open to contemporary transformation. In the show we are presenting at the Royal Opera House, we have accompanied the Mallakhamb with electro fusion music by Mumbai-based Donn Bhatt. The combination of the physical and music is really exciting.”
Explaining how the acrobatic movements can be made to look aesthetic, Ben says that he is interested in making meaning of the work. “That does not mean we have a story in the show, we actually do not. I work closely with our sound designer Donn Bhatt and then use the music to develop physical material with the Mallakhamb artistes.
“I seek a shape for the show that is interesting but also speaks of something greater that the audience can see and feel. The artistes are experts at Mallakhamb but we also create new physical material as well that is not Mallakhamb – in this way it becomes something else... another physical language.”
Ben doesn’t see the pole as just a wooden log, for him it is part of his visual imagery; lending a physical and mental support to artistes who unmindful of the pain and bruises hang on to it lovingly.
