Retour en Avant / Past Forward Biennale de la Danse Lyon - France

Vasant, inspiré par des vers de Ritusambar,poème sanscrit écrit par Kalidas décrivantl’arrivée du printemps.Abhinaya, (danse expressive ou art de l’expression)sur le poème, ici, chanté de GitaGovinda, qui évoque les amours de Krishnaet Rhada, les deux danseuses font appel à lamobilité du visage, des yeux et des mains.Sunsong, chorégraphie à la gloire du soleil,symbole de la conscience suprême et quireprésente également la nature personnifiéede Dieu.Samanvaya, dans ce final, les spécificités del’Odissi et du Bharatanatyam sont tissées ensemblepour former une unique « tapisseriedansée ».Comment le passé peut-il définir le futur ?L’intime entrelacement du passé et du présent estinhérent à la pensée indienne et notamment à la compréhensiondes arts classiques. Parampara, la tradition,désigne le changement ; elle est perçue comme unprocessus de croissance et d’évolution continu enracinédans le passé, qui dessine le présent et s’étend versle futur. Car la tradition est intrinsèquement capabled’absorber et d’assimiler l’innovation. Les origines demon style de danse, le Bharatanatyam, remontent à aumoins deux millénaires. Mais quand elle est interprétéepar des danseurs créatifs, cette danse antique sedynamise, devient une forme contemporaine évoluantsans cesse. Telle une rivière qui descend du passélointain jusqu’au présent, contenue et orientée par lesrives de la tradition et de l’esthétique classiques, maisdont le cours se modifie également pour accueillir denombreux affluents porteurs de nouvelles idées etinspirations.Les formes que j’ai héritées de mes gourous de ladance et de la musique ne sont que les fondementssur lesquels je construis des structures dans l’espaceet le temps, à partir de mon expérience personnellede la danse, de la musique, de la littérature et de lavie. Ainsi, la danse s’en retrouve sans cesse enrichie,renouvelée et vitalisée. Ma danse et ma vie présentessont dessinées par la conscience collective du passé.Alarmel ValliInfos +Madhavi Mudgal invitée à la Biennale 2000www.alarmelvalli.orgwww.artindia.netMadhavi MudgalShe grew up in the arts world: her fatherfounded Delhi’s leading school of Indian musicand dance, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. Madhaviattended the school for several years, studyingBharatanatyam, Kathak and then Odissi, beforedeciding to devote herself to the latter style. Shegave her first performance at the age of four.Aged 11, she was sent to East Germany andthe USSR as an Indian children’s ambassador. In1974, she received the special award bestowedby India’s national arts academy. Madhavi dancesall over the world, and takes part in India’sforemost festivals of music and dance. Hergrace, sensibility and aesthetic imagination areparticularly sought-after and esteemed. Madhavihas taught at the International Sommerakademiedes Tanzes in Cologne, Germany, and at theInternational Mime academy in Vienna, Austria.In India, she feels a duty to raise the profile ofher art and to pass it on: she teaches regularly atthe Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Delhi and givesreading-cum-demonstrations.Alarmel ValliAlarmel Valli bases her dancing on the principlethat Bharatanatyam is a language rich inimagery, and that a dancer who has masteredand interiorised this language can write theirown “danced poem”. From the age of 16, sheabsorbed the teachings and choreographies ofher guru Shri Chockalingam Pillai and of his sonSri Subbaraya Pillai; and has since rolled backthe frontiers of tradition to incorporate her owncreativity. Her knowledge of the music and ofthe rich, nuanced vocabulary of classical Indiandance has enabled Alarmel Valli to explore itsmultiple layers of poetry, music and rhythms andto add a highly contemporary dimension. Shehas received many awards and distinctions.Samanvaya / 2004 créationFor Samanvaya, which in Sanscrit means “inunison”, Madhavi Mudgal and Alarmel Valli, twoof the most acclaimed classical Indian dancers,teamed up for a shared creative experience.They have absorbed the very rich choreographicvocabulary of the great Indian masters of Odissiand Bharatanatyam, while reinforcing theirtraining in classical music. Their choreographicworks – in both the abstract and narrativeaspects of classical Indian dance – stand out fortheir lyricism and instinctive musicality. Music,poetry, theatre, painting, sculpture and philosophyare central to the language of this art. Bothdancers and choreographers, Alarmel Valli andMadhavi Mudgal have interiorised this body languagein order to write their own danced poetry.Each of their pieces is thus a unique and deeplypersonal formulation.In Samanvaya, they have striven to find commonground to articulate their respective choreographies,searching for new dynamics whileretaining their specific styles. The linear andgeometric structure and the energy of Bharatanatyamare placed in the same setting as thesensual and graceful lyricism and the constantswaying of the movements of Odissi. Their differingtextures and nuances provide a counterpoint,and heighten the intrinsic characteristicsof each form.The two styles are based on distinctive musicaltraditions. Most of the pieces of music weredevised specially for this show. While somecompositions emphasise the specific featuresof Carnatic music (from Southern India) orHindustani music (from the North), for othersthe dancers worked with famous musicians suchas Madhup Mudgal and Prema Ramamoorthy inorder to fuse musical styles and echo the “inunison” theme. Samanvaya features fourduets and two solos; the latter wereconceived to provide the foundationfor their joint work.Earth Hymn is inspired byverses of the Veda (the corpusof Indo-Aryan religious texts)and invoke the Earth, generousnurturer of natureand life.Nrittalahari, a form ofCarnatic music, wherethe dancers play with thedifferences and similaritiesof their styles.Vasant, inspired by versesfrom Ritusambar, a Sanscritpoem by Kalidas thatdescribes the coming of spring.Abhinaya (expressive dance or art of expression)after the poem, here sung by Gita.Govinda, which relates the loves of Krishna andRhada; the two dancers exploit the mobility ofthe face, eyes and hands.Sunsong, a piece of choreography to the gloryof the sun, the symbol of supreme consciousnessand which also personifies God’s nature.Samanvaya: in this finale, the distinctive featuresof Odissi and of Bharatanatyam are interwovento form a unique “danced tapestry”.How can the past shape the future?The close, interweaving of past and present is intrinsicto Indian thought and to an understanding of theclassical arts in particular. Parampara, or tradition, denoteschange and is perceived as a continuous processof growth and evolution - that is rooted in the past,that shapes the present and that reaches out towardsthe future. For, tradition has the inherent capacity toabsorb and to assimilate innovation. The origins ofmy dance style Bharatanatyam - go back at least twomillennia. But when interpreted by creative dancers,this ancient dance becomes a dynamic, continuouslyevolving contemporary form. It is like a river that hasflowed down from the distant past to the present,contained within and gaining direction from the banksof classical tradition and aesthetics, but also changingcourse, and accepting many tributaries of fresh ideasand new inspiration.The forms I inherited from my dance and music gurusare but the foundations on which I build structures,both in time and space, drawing from my individualexperience of dance, music, literature and life. In theprocess, the dance is continuously enriched, renewedand vitalized. My dance and life in the present areshaped by the collective consciousness of the past.Alarmel ValliExtra info:Madhavi Mudgal performed at the 2000Biennalewww.alarmelvalli.orgwww.artindia.net31