The Dhaka audience got a new taste of Tagore’s popular dance drama Chitrangada as the Kolkata based troupe Dancers’ Guild staged a brilliant show of the experimental production on Thursday at the National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
Earlier the troupe staged another show of the production on Wednesday at the same venue being invited by Bangladesh Dance Artists’ Association. Both of the shows were staged as part of autumn celebrations in Bangladesh. Dancers’ Guild also conducted a workshop as part of its Dhaka tour.
The Dancers’ Guild’s production was atypical in terms of script and presentation. Dr Aishika Chakraborty, the architect and choreographer of the production, has blended two versions of Tagore’s Chitrangada written as lyrical drama and dance drama forms written in two different time periods.
As the lyrical drama form dominated in the production, in the most scenes the dancers choreographed with recorded dialogues while in rest of the scenes they danced synchronised with Tagore songs.
When the protagonist of Chitrangada has been depicted in two selves- initially as Kurupa (ugly one) and after physical transformation as Surupa (pretty one) – in both of Tagore’s edition based on a myth of the epic the Mahabharata where legend Arjun encounters the Manipuri princess, Dancers’ Guild has added another self of Chitrangada as a realistic character to deliver the message that their production is not based on any myth rather it depicts the brutal reality where physical beauty gets importance over the beauty of the soul.
The dance director Jonaki Sarkar has taken the liberty to blend various styles of dance to evolve into a new form what they label as navanritya (neo dance form), a dance idiom pioneered by Dr Manjusri Chaki-Sircar.
The new dance form has blended non-dance theatrical movements with classical forms, martial arts, especially kalaripayattu, chau and thank-ta weaving them into choreographic tapestry of navanritya.
They have also used traditional patachitra (scroll painting) in the dance production. Jonaki Sarkar, Sadhana Hazra and Arpita Dutt marvelously acted the three selves of Chitrangada while Mithun Banerjee acted as Arjun which was also impressive.
‘Our navanritya is a continuously evolving process, which has no restrictive syllabus, no limit of its own,’ dance director Jonaki Sarkar told New Age. The experimental production was highly appreciated by the local dancers.
‘It was a wonderful production, very compact and energetic,’ said popular dancer Shibli Mohammad.
‘Dancers’ Guild’s concept of Chitrangada for the stage is very innovative. The dancers too are impressive,’ said another dancer Warda Rihab.
‘We always think of inviting dancers from other countries as it helps the local dance scenario to develop further,’ said Minu Haque, president of Bangladesh Dance Artists’ Association.
-With New Age input
