Flamenco Fusion Woos Odissi Lovers
Cuttack: When European folk dance collaborates with Indian classical, the globalisation of these dance forms brings out something different for sure! And, that was what was witnessed bydance connoisseurs in Cuttack at the recently concluded Gunjan Dance and Music Festival.
Offering a splendid treat to the eyes, the festival saw an unusual but beautiful fusion of Odissi and Flamenco presented by the visiting students from Spain Virginia and the senior disciples of Gunjan Dance Academy. The entire act was conceptualised by Guru and Founder Smt Meera Das and was well appreciated by the audience.
Talking to MCL, Debi Prasad Sahu, a dance enthusiast and a photographer said, “The effort of Gunjan to come up with such a presentation is commendable.” However, he also opined that there should be more such experiments by the dancing fraternity. “Of course, since the theories of such dance forms are poles apart, some experiments might fail as well. But the collaborations need to take place at the first place,” he further added.
Happy with the response received, Guru Meera Das said she decided to experiment with such a thing only after she saw a past performance of Virgina, who is currently getting trained under her in Odissi and was a part of the entire act. She also maintained that, she always tries to experiment creatively and has a few such nicely collaborated productions to her credit. “Though the choreography was not that difficult, selecting the apt music for both the dance forms was a big task. It is natural that for any such experiment, you face these challenges but then I am used to overcoming them,” added Das.
Meanwhile, for Virginia too, it was an equally challenging act. When the idea was conceived, she was excited and nervous at the same time. Virginia who is a trained Flamenco dancer, told MCL, “It was Guruma who boosted my confidence and made me comfortable. The coordination was very good, as she constantly pointed out details to enrich and improvise the choreography. The speed level in both the dance forms is different and so synchronisation was a tough task but the music selection solved the problem. I took time to adapt to the music and its structures as it is different from Flamenco. A detailed analysis and continuous efforts helped me out. For me music and dance are like taking rebirth every time. They fill me with joy and bring about an awakening.”
Similarly, her counterpart in Odissi, senior disciple of Gunjan, Puspa Panda said that she and her friends enjoyed the choreography and the process both. “As dancers, we need to be prepared for taking up new challenges and also experiments enrich us as dancers,” she added.
Elaborating on how each dance has its own beauty and style, Das said, “Ultimately what looks goodand pleases the eyes of art lovers is what every dancer aims at. Such fusions alsoenlightenus about other dance and art forms and then we try to extract the best out of it. So, such experiments need to be attempted without of course harming the grammar of any other dance form, especially Odissi.”
It may be noted that experimenting in Odissi has not been welcomed by many in Odisha before. However, few senior Gurus have been trying to do so. Earlier, Das had collaborated with national level mime artist Madhu and successfully produced her work and staged it during Gunjan Dance and Music Festival in 2014.
Dance, be it any style is considered as a form of storytelling. As a powerful medium, such kind of efforts can definitely go a long way in enriching the dance form and the dancers.