Bengaluru: Pablo Picasso believed that the purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls, and he wasn’t wrong at all. Through the centuries, art has been an escape from the ordinary and the expression of a voice that speaks out whenever it feels its peace being disturbed.
Offering one such escape is the Bengaluru International Arts Festival, to be held in the city from this weekend, extending over nine days. 250 artistes from all over the globe are scheduled to perform on seven different stages across the city.
The festival, which is celebrating its 9th anniversary with this edition, is centred on the theme of celebration of harmony through the arts. It promises a large number of fusion performances along with the traditional classical pieces that will present the audience with a lot of variety, says Dr Veena Murthy Vijay, a renowned kuchipudi dancer herself, who is a part of the organizing duo of the 2016 edition along with Dr.Suma Sudhindra. “It is a mixed affair this year, a wonderful mix of international music and dance performances, with a good amount of music genres.” she said.
Along with being a celebration of performing arts, the festival also aims to elevate the cultural scene in the city, through musical collaborations. “One could come in to get a great feel of what Indian culture is, while also enjoying the fusion element in the performances, reflecting the harmony in which they can co-exist.” said Dr. Sudhindra.
The first day of the festival is to kick off with a folk dance celebration, where troupes from Karnataka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Odisha, Telangana, Rajasthan and Gujarat are set to perform.
Rama Vaidhyanathan, a popular Delhi-based Bharatnatyam dancer, is in the city to participate in the Bengaluru International Arts Festival. She will be presenting her youth- oriented choreography, which is exclusively for the city audience. She says: “I haven’t presented this anywhere. I’m so excited to perform at the festival. I’ve heard about it for so long and now I finally get to perform. I will be expecting to see a lot of new faces.” she said.
Being an Indian classical dancer, she doesn’t think that any festival should be centred around one dance form. Fusion is a great way to go, she feels. “Contemporary, neo classical, and all combinations make it like a multi-cuisine restaurant and that is never a bad thing” smiles the dancer.
