World-renowned Bharatanatyam dancer Mallika Sarabhai and her performance troupe, The Darpana Dance Company, come to Barnard. New Bwogger Ana Rael attends.

Last night the Barnard Department of Dance and South Asia Institute of Columbia brought renowned Bharatanatyam performer and activist, Mallika Sarabhai and the Darpana Dance Company to the intimate Glicker-Milstein Theatre for a dance-lecture. Sarabhai is a highly acclaimed classical Indian dancer that has been in the spotlight since a very young age. Sarabhai is known for using dance and performance art as a medium for social change focusing on issues like violence against women, marginalized voices in India and global climate change. Tonight’s performance featured excerpts from the company’s current touring show Finding My Voice, with pieces written by both Sarabhai and her son, Revanta. Many of the dances also featured Pooja Purohit and Hemvati Bhaumik with music by Jayan Nair.

Sarabhai at a TED Talk in 2009.

The night opened with a warm greeting as the house lights came up and Sarabhai welcomed the slightly overfilled theatre with a smile. Sarabhai began with anecdotes attributing her origins in classical indian dance to her mother Mrinalini, the founder of The Darpana Academy of Performing arts and acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer. Growing up watching and learning the language of the Bharatanatyam dance, Sarabhai discovered her passion for the art as well as its political, empathetic and spiritual power. The first piece of the evening was derived from the sound of the dance class. “Wood on wood,” explained Sarabhai referring to the sound of a wooden stick and board tool used for rhythm. Each of the four dancers played these instruments and spoke traditional sounds called bols in order to create the song. The piece was designed to be complicated and precise as many of the traditional moves require. The ensemble worked completely in unison keeping the pace of the song as well as moving together. It was beautiful to watch the artists connect with each other and the audience through smiles and looks of recognition. Despite the required precision and exactitude, the dancers never became robotic or cold. In some instances Sarabhai would smile at her son or a member of the audience and it no longer felt like a performance, but rather a conversation.

Mallika Sarabhai via Pinterest

The lack of fourth wall continued throughout the performance but was especially highlighted in the second piece as Sarabhai and company communicated with both the audience and the god, Krishna. Each piece of the dance correlated with a projected phrase that was shown on the back theatre wall as music was played. The style became somewhat theatrical showing relation and communication based on the projected phrases. The multi-media presentation gave the piece depth and tangibility.

The third piece reached new perspectives, as Sarabhai introduced it with the fact that she lights a candle for her mother every morning. Interpretation was emphasized in this piece as each dancer was asked to interpret the movement differently. Because the act of lighting a candle was significant in performer specific ways, the piece moved in waves through emotion and meaning. Although the movements were similar for all the dancers, due to the nature of classical Indian dance, it was evident that each of the four dancers felt differently. It was a beautiful thing to see four bodies move in similar ways to the same music and projections but go on different journeys.

I shared some of the most intense eye contact of my life during the fourth piece of the night as Revanta performed a piece his mother choreographed about the devastation of the environment. Sarabhai’s last words during the piece’s introduction were, “I especially wanted to show you as a country that has just pulled out of the Paris Agreement”. The crowd chortled a bit and the music began. The piece opened slowly with projections playing behind Revanta as he made slow and graceful movements. This did not last long however, as the music quickly quieted and the the emotion in Revanta’s face changed, signifying a change in the treatment of the environment. As Revanta’s movements became more and more anxious and helpless he began to make more eye contact with the audience, almost pleading with them intensely. Our eyes met. A feeling of guilt and anger washed over me as we continued to hold each other’s gaze. It was an incredible and only slightly unnerving moment.

After my soul shaking eye contact, Sarabhai introduced her last piece of the evening. A spoken and lyrical look at the ways in which men view women and women view themselves. The piece was executed in a split screen fashion with the male perspective side was lighted with soft red hues and accompanied by slightly romantic music. These projections were embellished with decorative border and fancier font, whereas the other lyric projections had been in plain white print. The perspectives where stark in difference despite the movements being very similar in each. Sarabhai’s delivery and reactions created very concrete images that made the significance of the piece that much more tangible.

The final piece was a duet between Revanta and Pooja Purohit (ensemble member) that attempted to “find the essence of Bharatanatyam” by striping it down. The duet was very different that the other pieces. The first surprise was that both Purohit and Revanta started the dance on lying on their backs. I loved the sound of the rafters creaking as the entire audience leaned forward to get a glimpse. The duet explored many different planes and the music seemed somewhat modernized. The couple also sported typically casual and modern clothing rather than the performance attire worn during the rest of the pieces.

The night concluded with a question and answer portion. In which the performers primarily answered questions about their mother-son relationship and how that translates to each of them “finding their own voice” within their shared passion. They each do so by specifying things that they each care about such as social justice issues or different explorations of Bharatanatyam.

As someone who was not al all well versed in classical indian dance of any sort, there were times when I felt as If i didn’t grasp the entirety of the pieces or the religious experience just due to my lack of cultural knowledge. I went into this event expecting my wikipedia research to not suffice and I was right. However, this did not detract from the power and significance of the performance. The empathetic connection made through the performers was translated to the entire audience and the style of the “dance lecture” made the Sarabhai’s mind accessible. I was thoroughly moved and I left with a whole new perspective on the power and identity of Bharatanatyam. After all, wasn’t that the point?