Lineage

With the multiplicity of nations and cultures coming together in contemporary Australia, it is gratifying that a company such as FORM Dance Projects is emphasisng the multi-cultural influence of traditional dance forms. In Dance Bites 2013, Lineage presents traditional Indian and contemporary Australian indigenous dancers in a program that reflects the creative forces that are building contemporary Australian performance.

In Nrityaroopa, dancers Aruna Gandhimathinathan and Shruti Ghosh present four works based in the traditional dance forms of Bharatnatyam, “the embodiment of music in visual form, a ceremony, and an act of devotion”. Bharatnatyam has three distinct elements to it: Nritta (rhythmic dance movements), Natya (mime, or dance with a dramatic aspect), and Nritya (a combination of Nritta and Natya).

In beautiful traditional costumes, the dancers use the elaborate and minutely controlled gestures and movements of their art to portray acts of devotion and intricate story telling. Bells on their ankles emphasise the insistent tapping of their feet as they work to the accompaniment of eight, eleven and sixteen beat traditional music.

Their final performance, Yahi Madhava, describes a conversation between Radha and her dallying, but beloved Lord Krishna.  Here they combine features of Kathak and Bharatnatyam with the unique and eerie notes of ‘The Hang’, a contemporary instrument originating in Switzerland, played by Prabhu Osoniqs.

In Bad Dreams Thomas E.S. Kelly and Carl Angeloque Toentino blend traditional indigenous and contemporary choreography in a work that depicts the helplessness of our dreams and the creatures and that people them. Incredibly light on their feet, they twist and turn, leap and collapse, wait still and silent as they create and face the images they portray.

In A Dip for Narcissus, Tammi Gissell brings the wide experience of her study, teaching and choreography in a short but beautifully executed and graphically illustrated performance based on her ruminations on the dilemma of Narcissus and her own search for self. Lithe, flexibile and expressive, she entrances the audience just as Narcissus was, himself, entranced.

Lineage embraces just some of the dance forms that are becoming part of a new Australian culture. Let’s hope FORM and Dance Bites bring us even more!

Carol Wimmer

Photographer: Maylei Hunt