LAYAPRIYA BY THE BATTERY DANCE COMPANY, NEW YORK

An  eclectic mix of the East and the West....         

The western contemporary dance ensemble from New York, The Battery Dance Company, staged a spectacular performance ‘Layapriya’ under the aegis of Utsav (An Academy of Fine Arts) at the Narada Gana Sabha. The non-ticketed show gave dance lovers a good opportunity to have a glimpse of a show that was different in all aspects;  music, choreography, dance and  cast.

The large audience witnessed some beautiful work composed by Finnish music composers Frank Carlberg, who has collaborated with jazz notables like Steve Lacy, Rufus Reid and Eero Hameenniemi, the winner of the 1994, UNESCO 'Rostrum of Composers' in Paris.

The show consisted of seven dancers and three live musicians. Special mention must be given to the musicians, who were excellent. Christine Correa, the vocalist for the evening had a powerful voice, full throated and gripping. Her total involvement while rendering the numbers was commendable. She was ably assisted by the unobtrusive percussionist, Mike Sarin and composer Frank Carlberg on the piano.

The first item for the evening was titled 'Zero…Two...Blue...Heaven…Seven'. Based on a poem by Robert Creeley, each of the five sections takes its cue from Creeley’s deceptively simple poems and conjures up a plethora of moods and emotions. 'Zero' was a comical hula-hoop, 'Two' was a tango, 'Blue' was an autobiographical waltz for a quizzical woman, 'Heaven' was a kiddies romp enacted very well, and the last section 'Seven' was a stroll in a forest at dusk, the slow and haunting music for this section added to the poignant mood. The dancers displayed excellent co-ordination in their graceful  movements. The stage lighting for this piece was professional, accurate and precise.

The second piece was “Mother Goose”. The contents of this were writ in musical/dance imagery. It was a journey through light and dark, comfort and the unknown; and the world of toys, dolls, and people. The dance was characterised by fast and slow movements forming circular and diagonal patterns. Notwithstanding the skimpy costumes, this piece drew a big round of applause.

The third and the final item was the much-awaited fusion of the east and the west. Hollander used decorative hand gestures borrowed from the 'Indian classical dance styles' and fused it with 'contemporary modern dance'. He succeeded in creating an abstract vocabulary of his own. The music score was by Eero Hameenniemi and the soloists included Karaikudi Mani on the mridangam (a percussion instrument), Harishankar on the kanjeera (a small circular percussion instrument), Vasan on ghatam (a percussion instrument) and Kannan on the morsing (a wind instrument). Certain passages of the dance particularly the well-juxtaposed rhythmic syllables with certain movements were interesting, but tended to get a little repetitive and monotonous.

In the end, the organisers of the show made it a point to acknowledge each one of the many sponsors who had made this event possible. Kudos to Narada Gana Sabha for permitting the dance troupe to perform in a venue that is essentially known to promote only the classical arts.

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