Blow hot, blow cold

PUNE: "Expect the traditional and the wacky from us!" declares ace dancer Mallika Sarabhai over the phone from Ahmedabad. You believe her, because Mallika and her dance academy Darpana have always been known to define their work very broadly.
Mallika and her team of 10 dancers, which includes son Revanta and daughter Anahita, will be seen in action in their specially-choreographed show Hot Talas, Cool Rasas' to be staged at 7 pm on Saturday, January 17 at the Ishanya open-air amphitheatre.
Mallika confesses to being influenced by contemporary expressions like hot number' and cool dude' when she thought of choreographing her latest show. "We have tried to mix and match the traditional with the contemporary in both style and fashion. We have tried to define the traditional as cool and the modern as hot, as we proceed to have a lot of fun on stage," says Mallika.
The show will primarily hinge on two very important pieces: Kaun' and Celebration'. In Kaun', Mallika has used the foot tapping music of Indi pop-rock band Indian Ocean to confront contemporary issues. Says the dancer, "I think many people go through life, hiding behind masks all the time. I am so and so's my son, I am a Kshatriya etc, etc. We are like the musk deer, who is searching for the perfume all over, when it actually lies stored in her own navel! We must learn to strip these masks and confront our real selves. Hence, Kaun' is a thinking piece."
On the other hand, her second piece, Celebration', is based on violin maestro L Subramaniam's specially-crafted modern, Carnatic music. "This is a very visual piece, where we have tried to explore the joy of dancing. I have juxtaposed traditional Bharat Natyam with contemporary dance and tried to study the parallels and different body movements," says she.
Mallika, who has always raised her voice against human atrocities and violence, has even formed a special Centre for non-violence' in her academy in Ahmedabad. Presently, she is looking forward to their annual festival of non-violence through dance' which starts every year from Mahatma Gandhi's death anniversary (January 30), in Ahmedabad. "Through this festival, we try to communicate the utter futility of violence and the need for plurality in our society," says Mallika.