Fatima El Hassouni is amused when I yell out a warning to her colleague Ode Rosset to be careful as she twists and turns precariously on the flimsy bar of a well. “If you think this is scary, you should see her perform on a six foot-long Chinese pole,” says Fatima with a chuckle.
Ode is, however, oblivious to her surroundings as she contorts her body on the bar to the vibrant ethereal sound Jerome Cury plays on the waterphone (an instrument which falls into the category of un-tuned percussion, and can be drummed or bowed). Fatima soon joins in with a chant, which is hypnotic in nature.
Fatima, Ode and Jerome are part of Via, a performance troupe the trio formed in 2015. Jerome, who runs Les Mèlangeurs, a company that features live shows combining different artistic disciplines, says: “Via was formed as we wanted to feature Fatima’s vocal, Ode’s training in circus acrobatics and my music together in a performance. We wanted to collaborate, yet, at the same time retain our individual artistic talent. We believe that each artiste uses his or her own medium to express their thoughts, beliefs, views… best. We do not want to dilute it.”
According to Ode, Via’s performances are based on the story of life. It’s on how humans share the same circle of life “and how all of us are connected as a whole. Singing, percussion and aerial evolutions at the Chinese mast form a poetic whole; it’s a moving form that is open to the unexpected. There’s a constant interaction with the moment and the place of performance and so each show is different as we treat each show as a new canvas for us to paint on; express ourselves.”
An alumna of National Centre of Circus Art in France, Ode came down to Kerala to learn Kalaripayattu as part of the curriculum. She learnt under Baiju Varghese Gurukkal of KJV Kalari. Fascinated by the ancient Indian martial art form, she continued visiting the institute at intervals to hone her skills. She also taught the members of the Kalari how to use the Chinese Pole. In fact, she and members of the institute performed a show featuring the Chinese pole at the Kalari in 2016 and began fusing Kalaripayattu and the Chinese pole in shows which took them to various parts of the country.
Fatima and Jerome, who tagged along on a visit to KJV Kalari two years ago, were impressed by the fighting system too. “We, as a group, were looking at working with artistes trained in different media as part of Via, and decided to collaborate with KJV Kalari,” says Jerome.
Fatima El Hassouni, Ode Rosset, Jerome Cury, Kishor CK and Subheesh PB
And so, in June last year, Kishor CK, a trainer at the institute, travelled to France for three months. “I taught Kalaripayattu at various circus academies and also held shows featuring just Kalaripayattu, and ones featuring a mix of Kalaripayattu and the Chinese Pole. I also performed with two acrobats from Senegal,” says Kishor.
But then, according to Subheesh PB, an Ayurvedic therapist and Kalari teacher at KJV, working on such projects is nothing new. “We have worked with contemporary dancers from Europe led by Karin Noel and have performed in France,” he says.
Kishor and Subheesh along with Ode, Jerome and Fatima, will be performing an “artistic display” of Chinese pole, Kalaripayattu and music on March 3.
While Kishor and Subheesh will be performing Kalaripayattu steps, Ode will be balancing on the Chinese Pole. Jerome on the percussions such as gong, Tibetan bowls and calebasse (made from a variety of bottle gourd) will help set the mood for the show as Fatima sings songs from various languages. “I have a song which says Welcome in every language, even Malayalam,” grins Fatima.
Asked if they plan to work with artistes from other fields as well and Jerome says, “Yes, in fact, we are in talks with a classical singer and a dancer. We will hopefully introduce a Via collaboration with them soon.”
Via will be performing at Manaveeyam Veedhi on March 3, 5 pm . The programme, which is organised by Alliance Francaise, will travel to Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Delhi, Puducherry and Indore.
