Rekha

Music /
P Sushanth

Rekha seeks to bridge the abstract and the narrative while finding new possibilities within the context of Bharatanatyam. With ancient Sanskrit verses, we draw parallels between the three sacred lines on Shiva’s forehead and the underlying energy and dynamics of the lines created by the dancers’ bodies. We engage with the musical element A-U-M: the three primordial sounds merging together to form Aum.

Text / Kalagnirudra Upanishad

Choreographer’s note

The thought behind this piece was to revisit basic technique and discover the unfamiliar within the familiar. Going deeper felt more freeing. Thinking and experimenting with different alignments in space revealed possible movement phrases. These phrases accumulated into visuals and shaped the choreography. Verses enveloped the choreography and created meaning.

“Staccato, rectilinear and attuned to godhead, bharatanatyam seems custom-made for such cosmic geometric concerns, as does Viraja’s stateliness and loving amplitude of gesture. Indeed, whenever the Kirans’ gestures overlapped, the air took on a special charge.”

- Apollinaire Scherr, Financial Times NYC, 16 August 2017
(Performance for the Erasing Borders indoor festival curated by the Indo American Arts Council)