This Bharatanatyam dancer couple — Kiran Subramanyam and Sandhya Kiran — needs no introduction to someone who is familiar with the classical dance scene in the country. Their dance school ‘Rasika Arts Foundation’, which has been training students for more than two decades, has been producing talented dancers who are now performing across the world. The Kirans will be in Chennai to stage their magnum opus dance production — Maanini.
Kiran Subramanyam says, “Maanini is eight different expressions or states of a woman — popularly known as Ashta Nayikas. Usually, people think that Ashta Nayikas mean eight different women but it is actually eight different states of a single woman. I have tried to explore the concept with a lead character who is longing to meet her beloved.”
“So, all the eight nayikas will follow one after the other as the story progresses. For instance, when she dresses herself to meet him, she is in a state called Vasakasajja. She is very particular about choosing her dress in order to impress him. And when she sneaks out after sunset to go meet him, she is in a state called Abhisarika. Likewise, the other states will follow.”
The tricky part in Maanini is that each state is enacted by a different person, and that has been the challenging task according to Kiran — “Though it is a story of the lead character, for each expression I have used a different dancer. Also, we have made it in such a way that each character will look like she is emerging out of the lead. Except two dancers, all of them are from different schools in Bengaluru and they have learnt different styles. To coordinate and get everyone on the same page has been a big task.”
Conventionally, each nayika has been approached individually by dancers, but the Kirans have given a new dimension to it. “Normally, purists — not that I hold anything against them — stress to stick with the structure if one is doing any pure dance form. I agree to stick with structure but I would also like to improvise it further. They ask ‘why?’,
I say ‘why not’, “ Kiran grins. The group will also stage another performance called Aarambh. “It basically means beginning. There are a lot of theoretical codes for classical Bharatanatyam and all these theoretical texts are adapted into this colourful performance. It puts all the basics of the classical dance in a nutshell.”
(Maanini will be staged on November 28 at Kalakshetra Foundation at 7 pm)
