Crosscultural and seamless, this dancer hopes to bring a global show with her latest offering
The troupe in the thick of a practice session
Her dance moves are endearing. She exudes poise and charm that is magnetic and draws one instantly to her moves. Bengaluru-based Keya Ann D’Souza, trained and performed as a jazz dancer before graduating from the Attakkalari Centre for Moving Arts in Bengaluru. After working there for a few years, she is now bringing to the city — Heartbreak Hotel that promises to be a stellar production at Alliance Francaise on September 2 and 3. We speak to the lady who followed her passion for dance, on her upcoming performance.
Talking of how she began her dance journey, the 30-year-old who directed Shrek, the musical, says, “I started dancing in Delhi with Ashley Lobo of Danceworx, when I was 12 and have been training continuously since then, mainly in jazz and ballet. I graduated from St Xavier’s in Anthropology and came to Bengaluru to train with Attakalari. I travelled for many productions as part of Attakalari. As part of the repertory company, I performed and continued my training. Being in Europe and seeing contemporary dances and collaborations has been exciting. Through this production, I’m brining many ideas and talents together and it’s very inspiring to see how they innovate with their own music, light and sound.”
About her other passions, she adds, “I love to travel and get exposed to different forms of theatre, art and movies. I love Europe as there’s something new every time I go there. In India, I like to see the brilliant architecture and topography. I’m from Goa, so I also love going to coastal areas. I also love to swim. Also being in the creative field, it’s important for me to meet different people and get new ideas. I also learnt Bharatanatyam, Kalaripayattu, yoga and contemporary and modern techniques of movement.”
Spilling the beans on the show, Keya adds, “This show is inspired by the bar Heartbreak Hotel in Bremen, Germany. Artists from India and Germany will perform pieces that fuse dance, live music and art that shares the secrets of every man and woman. This came after my six-month stay working with Theater Bremen. I did a project with a German choreographer Samir Akika who had invited me to work on a production infusing artistes from all over the globe. It was a cross-cultural production and I came back from Germany this year in March and decided to do my own production here with collaboration by artistes from India and Germany. Tiloachreiiech is doing the light and stage design and will be doing an installation here and is also directing with me. Other artistes in collaboration are EDM DJ Martin Bafman and percussionist Anand Bhagat.” Keya’s previous productions include A Tribute to Pina Bausch, Mei Dhwani – Echoes of the Body, and Adhaarachakra — A Dancelogue, Banag Bang and quite a few others.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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