Shilpakala Vedika in Hyderabad presented “Same Same But Different”, an out-of-the-box Indo–Korean collaboration between dance and music.
The programme started with a traditional Korean percussion ensemble followed by a musical composition sung by Varijashree Venugopal, supported by Praveen Rao on the harmonium and Manjunath on mridangam. As the vocalist started singing an invocation for peace in Sanskrit language, with musical support from the instrumental accompanists, internationally acclaimed contemporary dancer Astad Deboo made an entry bringing in ‘expressions’ and ‘mudras’, which connected the ‘inner world’ of humanity with the outside existence.
This was followed by ‘konnakol’ rhythms by Praveen Rao, Varijashree Venugopal and Manjunath. After a brief performance on the ‘piri’, a musical instrument by Gyeongsik Kim, and then on the ‘gayageum’, musical instrument by Oh Hyeyeong, all performers including percussionists Howan Lee and Ju Hyun created a beautiful musical ensemble for a grand finale of dervish-like dance movements by Astad Deboo. It was a beautiful melange of world culture, well appreciated by the mix of senior art connoisseurs and young audience.
Ju Hong Kim, artistic director of this production, spoke about promoting ‘freedom and peace’ by combining traditional music with contemporary dance movements.
