06 Sep 2010 World-renowned classical dancer and choreographer Vijayalakshmi’s new choreographic work, Swan Lake in Mohiniyattam, runs from 8 to 12 September and accomplished local dancer, teacher and choreographer Jayesperi Moopen’s From Canefields to Freedom, from 14 to 16 September at The Dance Factory, Newtown, Johannesburg.

The Shared History Dance programme forms part of the 2010 Joburg Arts Alive International Festival.

The High Commission of India in South Africa and Teamwork Productions is proud to present the fourth edition of the Shared History - The Indian Experience Festival, 2010, a celebration of contemporary and classical music, dance, theatre, visual art, film, food and literature.

The Festival commemorates the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first indentured Indians in South Africa and showcases the finest that the culture has to offer with performances presented in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg and Pretoria from 20 August until 30 September 2010.

Swan Lake in Mohiniyattam, inspired by Tchaikovsky's celebrated composition, marks the coming together of two great classical traditions. Vijayalakshmi uses the Indian Classical Dance tradition from Kerala, known as Mohiniyattam, to interpret the music of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake: the alluring beauty of Mohiniyattam blends seamlessly with the lyrical and dramatic music of the famous Russian ballet.

Vijayalakshmi, recognised as one of the leading performers and choreographers of Mohiniyattam today, has taken this ancient dance form to higher levels by constantly exploring uncharted territories and expanding traditional boundaries. In this production she explores the quintessential feminine qualities of grace and beauty. The recipient of several prestigious awards she has performed extensively around the globe, including the Edinburgh International Festival, Lincoln Centre, NY and the Bolshoi Theatre, Russia.

Vijayalakshmi conceived and adapted this in collaboration with her mother and guru, Bharati Shivaji and Santosh Nair and premiered the work at the Bolshoi Theatre in Russia.

The production has received rave reviews across the globe and is a definite must-see on the local Dance calendar.

Swan Lake in Mohiniyattam then moves to The Playhouse Company, Durban from 16 to 19 September.

From 14 to 16 September, again at The Dance Factory, the acclaimed South African dance company Tribhangi Dance Theatre with the commissioned production From Canefields to Freedom, takes to the stage.

Local cutting- edge choreography holds its own alongside the international dance company with Jayesperi Moopen’s new work, a dance drama that commemorates the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Indian indentured labourers in South Africa.

“The aim of the production is to provide a brief chronicle of Indian South African life through dance, music, drama and visual footage which attempts to span significant events that shaped the lives we have today”, says Artistic director Moopen.

The information used by her to write this new work was garnered from books written by Uma Dhupelia-Mesthrie and Dr Ashwin Desai.

The cast of 16 comprises company dancers, Priya Naidoo, Nhlanhla Zwane, Mxolisi Ngwenya, Tebogo Matlaila, Bavani Katha, Maseng Mamabolo, Sibusiso Kubeka, Devan Moonsamy and junior Dancers from Moving into Dance Mophatong.

Tickets for Swan Lake in Mohiniyattam and From Canefields to Freedom are available at the door or by calling the Dance Factory at 011 833 1347 or can be booked at Computicket - 083 915 8000.

The Shared History Festival was initiated three years ago and has become a brand in its own right and is seen as an integral part of the South African cultural calendar.

The Shared History Festival is sponsored by the City of Johannesburg, Arts Alive, eThekwini Municipality, First National Bank (FNB), Jet Airways, Jindal, ICCR and Incredible India.

For further information on the festival and a programme please visit the Shared History website – www.sharedhistory.co.in and www.teamworkfilms.com. Also check out the Arts Alive website, www.artsalive.co.za.

additional info:

Consulate General of India, Johannesburg - The Consulate in Johannesburg works to promote connectivity between the people of India and South Africa, through its cultural centre, consular work and commercial services.

Teamwork Productions (South Africa) produces 15 annual festivals across the world and works in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, UK, Spain, Italy, France, Netherlands, Germany and the USA.

The Joburg Arts Alive International Festival 2010 is produced and managed for the City of Joburg by Zanusi Brand Solutions. This leading 100% black-owned branding consulting firm took over the Joburg Arts Alive International Festival in 2009 bringing Zanusi's award-winning integrated brand solutions approach to the project with significant success.

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Vijayalakshmi, daughter and premier disciple of Guru Bharati Shivaji, is acknowledged as one of the most eminent exponents of this dance form today.  A unique combination of a researcher and a performer, Vijayalakshmi has endeavored to take Mohiniyattam to higher levels by constantly exploring uncharted territories and expanding traditional boundaries through innovative choreographies inspired from a pan-Indian and global perspective. A recipient of several prestigious national awards, Vijayalakshmi has carved a distinct niche for herself and has played a significant role in the rejuvenation of this beautiful Indian classical dance form. Her recent productions include Unniarcha, inspired from Kalaripayattu, the ancient martial art form; Swan Lake, inspired from the great Russian composer Tchaikovsky's music; and Paryapti, which draws upon the rich cultural ethos and music of Bengal. Vijayalakshmi has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in India and around the globe including the Lincoln Center, the Bolshoi Theatre, the Cervantino International Festival and the Edinburgh International Festival.

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Vijayalakshmi has co-authored a book along with Guru Bharati Shivaji entitled ’Mohiniyattam’, released by the Hon. President of India. In 2003, she received the Top Cultural Ambassador award from Mr. I.K.Gujral, former Prime-Minister of India and the   Rashtriya Ekta award from the All India Unity Conference. She is the recipient of a Fellowship from the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, (IGNCA) for a project entitled ‘Exploring New Dimensions in Mohiniyattam’ and a Fellowship from the Department of Culture, Government of India for a project entitled ‘Exploring the Art of Mohiniyattam’. She also received the ‘Sanskriti Nritya Puraskar’ from the Prime Minister of India in 1993. Vijayalakshmi was profiled in the special Independence Day issue of The Week magazine, August 17, 2003, as one of 50 Emerging Stars of India to watch over the next decade

{tab=Swan Lake in Mohiniyattam} 

The haunting music of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, which Vijayalakshmi chanced upon during a performance-tour of the former USSR in 1987, made an indelible impression that eventually culminated into one of her most challenging and fulfilling choreographies to date. The urge to combine two great classical traditions in a seamless flow - merging the alluring beauty of Mohiniyattam with the elevating music of Tchaikovsky finally came to fruition when  Swan Lake in Mohiniyattam premiered in New Delhi on April 4, 2005.  Recognised as a landmark in the realm of Indian classical dance, the production  opened to rave reviews and has since been presented at major venues across India and internationally. The production came full circle when Vijayalakshmi had the rare honor of presenting Swan Lake in Mohiniyattam at the prestigious Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and at the Conservatory theatre in St. Petersburg, where Tchaikovsky studied music.

Among all the classical Indian forms, Mohiniyattam is perhaps most suited for such a creative attempt. The content, sequence, tonality and other aspects of the music give it an unusual richness, complexity and lyricism making it a very enriching experience. Tchaikovsky achieves an unwavering musical structure that is designed to vividly etch the story outline in virtually every detail. Swan Lake is a perfect example of skillfully fused poetic sentiments of romantic ballet with the dramatics and skill of classical ballet which raised the essence of the work to its highest level.  The music, which is rich and powerful, when closely observed, reveals an extremely dramatic, bhava-oriented and evocative quality about it, reminiscent of the dramatic element found in the Kerala dance traditions. The languid movements of the Western classical dancer could well be likened to the soft and graceful movements of Mohiniattam. Even in terms of content the story lends itself very well to the Indian ethos - the heroine or the nayika and her lover, their meeting, followed by their separation caused by an evil spell, eventually their union and the role of the nayika's sakhis, or friends and several other parallels.

Swan lake in Mohiniyattam explores the idiom of Mohiniyattam via the completely different genre of Western Classical music and highlights the natural affinity that Western ballet and Mohiniyattam share, in terms of content, technique, and spirit.

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“Many faces of innovation…So effortlessly did the Mohiniyattam movements match Tchaikovsky’s score, dance and music looking made for each other, making the viewer forget this was a cross-cultural effort. Resulting from the long nursed obsession of Vijayalakshmi, the choreography kept movement faithful to the Mohiniyattam body language while making it look inevitably part of the music. Vijayalakshmi playing Odette also made a researched selection of relevant passages from the music…Totally unhampered by the a-rhythmic music, the rapturous dancing seemed to emanate from dancers liberated from the tala-bound conventional measurement of time. The pristine white Mohiniyattam costume, the delicate elevations and dips with graceful andolika torso sway seemed tailor-made for the swan.”  A discerning foreigner summed up: "Swan Lake ballet is a cliché. But this! It is as if Tchaikovsky had composed for Mohiniattam!"      The Hindu

The audience was amazed when instead of Swan-girls in usual ballet skirts, barefooted beauties in Indian saris with jasmine flowers in black hair floated on the stage. Their movements were magnificent. They told a love story, taken with delight by the spectators. As for the contents on the performance, the ardour on the stage was stronger, the colours were brighter and the artistes more passionate. The sophisticated audience in Moscow received it with ovation. It turns out to be so pleasant to destroy the steadiest stereotypes. ….Russian Press

Rarely has one had the feeling of music and dance being perfectly matched as in the recent endeavour of Swan Lake in Mohiniyattam based on Tchaikovsky's original music by the Centre for Mohiniyattam, under the leadership of dancer Bharati Shivaji and her disciple/daughter Vijayalakshmi.... This task of retaining the best of the music without giving a feel of disjointed bits put together could only have been achieved by one who had absorbed every mood in the music by listening to it constantly. Here it was Vijayalakshmi whose obsessive desire to do Swan Lake in Mohiniyattam after having listened to the music in Russia and seen ballet performances was a factor which came to the aid of the production and in a sense became its main motivating force. The fact that many Westerners who are familiar with the work, while watching forgot the feeling of this being a cross-cultural work, says a lot for how dance and music interacted.  …Leela Venkataraman, Dance Critic, www.sruti.com

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Santosh Nair, one of the leading Contemporary and Chhau dancers in India today, comes from a family of artists and is trained in both traditional & contemporary dance forms. He began his training in Kathakali, with his father Shri. Kalamandalam Padmanabhan and continued under Guru Sadanam Balakrishnan. His training in Contemporary Dance took place under Shri.Narendra Sharma and he trained in Mayurbhanj Chhau under Guru Janme Joy Sai Babu.

He has performed widely within the country & abroad, including at the Modern Dance Festival in West Germany and the Big World festival in Brazil, collaborating as a dancer & choreographer with Sampad South Asian Arts, Birmingham for “The Motherland” Project.

Very recently, Santosh Nair choreographed “Stealth” for Sampradaya Dance Creations, for the Canada Dance Festival in Ottawa and was also invited as the master teacher to conduct the movement workshop, based on Mayurbhanj Chhau, for the Dance Intense program (2009) in Toronto, Canada.

He has also collaborated with eminent Austrian choreographer, Editta Braun & Solvi Edverdsen of Norway for “India-the Crash Test” and “Beyond Borders” respectively. His choreography of the French Operas-The Pearl Fisher and If I Were King, under the aegis of Neemrana Music Foundation, have given a new dimension to the Opera presentation.

In his own words, “I really enjoy experimental work and innovative choreography and love to challenge my creative potential, time and again”.

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