Dancing miss devis

Come weekend, and the city wakes up from the lap of monotony to soak in dance recitals, theatrical performances and concerts — basically, anything that involves the stage. But it’s not often that you see a little bit of everything in one production. Bengaluru’s Odissi danseuse Meghna Das, along with Preethi Bharadwaj, Pooja Pant and Lekha Naidu are all set to weave theatre and three Indian classical dance forms into a production that Meghna calls Anamika on September 6 at Alliance Française.

This performance, through dance, explores the stories of three mythological women – Radha, Draupadi and Devaki who all have one thing in common – their passion for Krishna and through theatre, brings out the dilemma of Anamika, a modern woman. “Anamika draws modern parallels to these stories while searching for her own source of passion, asking the questions – Who are we? What is everyone searching for? And what do I have in common with the stories of these three women,” says Meghna who has conceptualised, scripted and directed this performance. “Krishna is metaphorical and not necessarily a religious figure. He is symbolic of passion – a theme I very much relate to,” says the danseuse who has performed across Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and Cambodia to critical acclaim. With her interest in taking Odissi in its classical form to newer contexts and formats, she has also collaborated with ballet, contemporary, tap and jazz dancers, so this fusion of sorts is only a natural progression for her.

After sold out shows, packed auditoriums, wait lists and running a successful crowdfunding campaign, the team is back with an improved, Anamika 2.0 if you will. “We call women independent and forward but are always questioning if we are free or not – this is what is seen through the eyes of these various women,” says Pooja Pant, whose recent feather in the cap has been her performance in Beyond Bollywood that premiered at the London Palladium. “Seeing as I live and breathe Kathak, it was easier for the form to flow into theatre,” she says, performing with Preethi, a multifaceted Bharatanatyam artiste who enjoys experimenting with dance forms. Although both dance and theatre belong to the performing art traditions, marrying both couldn’t have been an easy task. “In my opinion, theatre has the fluidity to adapt and take any shape…like water. It can take root in crevices and grow, like a ficus. Although now we see dance and theatre as separate entities, it all comes from the same fount. In the end, we are all telling stories, offering bits of ourselves and trying to reach out to people in our own way,” says theatre practitioner Lekha Naidu, as she preps to take to the stage as Anamika.