A performance on devotional dance and music

Bhakti, a very interesting production juxtaposing the devotional poetry of two very different cultures, interpreted through the South Indian dance form of Bharathanatyam, was a joint creative effort by dancer-choreographer Aparna Ramaswamy and composers Ruth Mackenze and Nirmala Rajashekar. The poetry of two women-saints, Andal (8th century, Tamil Nadu, India) and Hildegard von Bingen (11th century, Germany) formed the textual backdrop for this offering of Ragamala music and dance theater at the Southern Theater in Feb./March.

Aparna's dance choreography sparkled, exuberantly energetic in the nritta (pure dance) pieces. The abhinaya passages - interpreting the poetry through gestures - were essayed well, primarily by Aparna and Ranee Ramaswamy, and evoked the sentiment of devotion to the divine - bhakti.

The dancers of Ragamala provided good dance support in the execution of the nritta passages, keeping pace with the demanding choreography. However, this very exuberance and display of skill served to detract from the mood that the title of the show professed: bhakti. In a manner reminiscent of fleeting waves arriving and dispersing on the sand alternately, the mood was briefly created, taken apart, re-created, and taken apart yet again at each nritta interlude. A more restrained, meditative nritta portion might have helped to leave the feeling of bhakti lingering in one's mind at the end of the show. This sense of incompleteness of bhakti was however, a thread that ran through multiple aspects of the show. The flier depicted the cupped hands of a woman as a symbol of spiritual devotion - if only the long, neatly-shaped nails had not been visible. The designer costumes worn (Mary Hansmeyer) - very different from the grand ones used for Bharatanatyam traditionally, were monochrome, elegant single-piece dresses, devoid of all accompanying jewelry - perhaps to present a picture of austerity. The flashy fabric however, did not help.

The musical score combined the Carnatic Indian and Medieval classical styles for a truly soulful, evocative effect. The vocalists Ruth Mackenzie, Nirmala Rajashekar and Vera Mariner, all did an excellent job of blending their respective musical styles seamlessly, interleaving and superimposing in turn, to create a well-harmonized effect. The only flaw was perhaps, that the lyrics were at many points unintelligible through all the modulations and simultaneous singing. The instrumentalists - Murali Balachandran and Raman Kalyan on the percussion instruments (mridangam et al.) and the flute - provided excellent support and one would have welcomed a longer instrumental interlude, especially since the show was so short - about 60 minutes in all.

Rama