presents Shantala Shivalingappa

AKASHA Kuchipudi creation 2013

CHOREOGRAPHER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & DANCER Shantala Shivalingappa ARTISTIC ADVISOR Savitry Nair LIGHTNING DESIGNER & TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Nicolas Boudier RHYTHMICAL CREATION B.P. Haribabu & N. Ramakrishnan

SINGER J. Ramesh NATTUVANGAM & PAKHWAJ (CYMBALS & PERCUSSIONS) B.P. Haribabu MRIDANGAM (PERCUSSIONS) N. Ramakrishnan FLUTIST K.S. Jayaram

TECHNICAL COORDINATOR & LIGHT TECHNICIAN Nicolas Boudier SOUND TECHNICIAN Gary Miller TOUR MANAGEMENT Valérie Cusson

June 26-28 at 8PM Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School

Presented with support from: Yale Institute of Sacred Music About the Program

ABOUT THE WORK In Sanskrit, Akasha means Sky or Space.

It is said that Akasha originates in sound, which is a vibration, or said another way, a form of energy and movement.

This Space is manifested in various ways at different levels of perception.

Starting from the space we perceive around us, the space which surrounds us, the space of the universe which contains everything we know (in Indian thought, this Space is the fifth element and completes the four-fold Air, Water, Fire, Earth), and ending in its subtlest form : that of Space beyond space-time.

The Infinite, Undefinable, Space of Being.

Inconceivable by mind, imperceptible to senses, it pervades, as well as holds and contains all that exists.

That Akasha is Luminous and the Source of All.

Through the vibrations of sound and movement, through the pure, timeless energy that emanates from them, that Infinite Space rises, boundless within our own self, one can almost feel it expanding…

AKASHA Premiered on March 15, 2013 in Châteauvallon, Toulon, France The Program

1. OM NAMO JI ADYA 3. JAYA JAYA DURGE Poem Dhyaneshwar (13th Century) Poem Narayana Tirtha (16th Century) Music HridayAnath Mangeshkar Music J.Ramesh Choreography and singing Shantala Choreography Shantala Shivalingappa Shivalingappa Poem of praise to Durga, a form of “I salute the Supreme Being described the Goddess Mother who embodies in the Vedas. The one which we can power and destruction of the Evil. Her only know when the individual soul multiple arms hold various weapons merges with the Supreme Soul. I such as the sword, the trident, the prostrate myself before him. In the arch, the disk, etc. Her mount is a tiger. form of Ganesh, the elephant-headed “Glory to you, Ô Durga! Conqueror of God, you are the light that enlightens demons. From you emanate space, everyone’s mind. The sound “A” comes sky and all the universe. Your feet are from his feet, resembling lotus. “0U” like lotus flowers You bless the entire emanates from his belly. “M” comes world with well-being. You, sister of from his crown. These three sounds Narayana, you embody Supreme joy. merge into one which is the primordial The bells at your feet are filled with universe sound: OM. By my Master’s jingling precious stones. We hear the grace, I salute this OM, seed of the sounds of the sacred texts. Celestial universe. And I pay tribute to the one musicians sing your praises. You are which enchants us by the grace and the Supreme Witness of the universe.” beauty of her form, and inspires us with her blessing: Sharada, Goddess of This piece presents a dance on a Art and Knowledge.” copper tray, a specific Kuchipudi technique. 2. KRISHNAM KALAYA Poem Narayana Tirtha (16th Century) Music Traditional Composition 4. KIRTANAM Choreography Vempati Ravi Shankar Poem Annamacharya (14th Century) Music Traditional Composition “Look my friend! The Child Krishna, Choreography Vempati Ravi Shankar radiant with beauty! Even playing in the mud, his mouth full of earth he is Poem which tells the story of a love still charming! This child is none other quarrel between Alamelu Manga, the than Krishna, the Supreme God, the narrator, and her husband, the God Light of the universe, the conqueror Venkateshwara. The dancer plays both of demons. He dances and plays with characters one after the other. She young shepherdesses and enchants also plays other secondary characters us with his divine flute. He embodies of the story, marking the passage from Supreme Truth and Compassion. He is one character to another by complet- the shore of the ocean of difficulties ing a tour on herself. “Enough! those on earth, the shelter of all Yogis. He deceptive words! Stop pulling the train is the Vedas essence. As the Ganges’ of my sari! Go away! Why are you streams, the love flowing in his heart looking for my company when fills music and literature. He is the my heart seems of stone and for supreme protector. Look at this deception is your main asset? My body divine Child!” which shivered with pleasure under your fingers now considers your touch as dirt. All desires have left me. You spend your time running after pretty women, expert at singing their praise, each time discovering new ways to seduce them. My God! These marks on The Program your shoulders, a sign of your romantic games with others! All that is left for me is to wish you victory with your new conquests! What a sad faith is mine. You always come back with new apologies. But that does not keep you from falling again for other women. Oh you, the one who destroys everyone’s pain, become my loyal love and revive thus the light in our couple.”

5. BHAIRAVA Traditional Poem and Music J.RAMESH Choreography Shantala Shivalingappa

Bhairava is an aspect of the God Shiva (who is also lord of the Dance) in its terrible and destructive form. He is the Divine Protector, the Supreme Guardian. He holds in his hands the small sacred drum which gives its rhythm to the universe. “His power is prodigious and under its terrifying aspect, hides an infinite benevolence. For everyone’s well-being, he destroys demons and overcome the Evil. The trident and sword are his weapons and a tiger skin is his clothing. His immense hair is constrained in a bun on his head from which flows the sacred river Ganges. He wears a necklace ok skulls his skin is covered with ashes, the divine snakes ornate his neck and his chest. His eyes are the moon and the sun and his third eye is the Fire of Knowledge and Destruction. We salute you Oh Bhairava, Suprême Protector.”

. About

SHANTALA SHIVALINGAPPA (Choreographer, Artistic Director and Dancer) Born in Madras, India, brought up in Paris, Shantala is the child of east and west. She grew up in a world filled with dance and music, initiated at a tender age by her mother, dancer Savitry Nair. Deeply moved and inspired by Master Vempati Chinna Satyam’s pure and graceful style, Shantala dedicated herself to Kuchipudi, and received an intense and rigorous training from her master. Driven by a deep desire to bring Kuchipudi to the western audience, she has performed in important festivals and theatres, earning praise and admiration from all.

Acclaimed as a rare dancer by artists and connoisseurs in India and Europe, Shantala combines a perfect technique with flowing grace and a very fine sensitivity. Since the age of 13, she has also had the privilege of working with some of the greatest artists of our times: Maurice Bejart, Peter Brook, Bartabas, Pina Bausch. Such experiences make her artistic journey a truly unique one.

Today, Shantala shares her time among various activities: she keeps creating Kuchipudi choreographies, building a new repertoire marked with her personal touch. In parallel, she is also touring both in solo and with the Tanztheater Wuppertal of Pina Bausch. Finally, Shantala is collaborating with different occidental artists, exploring dance and music. Those collaborations have generated, among others; “Play” a duet with dancer and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui; “Nineteen Mantras” a modern opera inspired by Hindu myths which was directed by Giorgio Barberio Corsetti. Shantala choreographed this piece which was performed by the students of the Academia de la Scala in Milan; “Peer Gynt”, directed by Irina Brook for the Salzbourg Festival and in which Shantala performed as a dancer, a singer and an actress.

Kuchipudi is a classical dance form of South India. It takes its name from a small village called Kuchipudi, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, where it was born around the 15th century. Like all Indian classical dance forms, it’s technique is rooted in the Natya Shastra, a 2000 year- old treaty on dramatics, which gives a very precise and highly developed codification of dance, music and theater.

But Kuchipudi also received the influence of the popular folk dance and music traditions which were prevalent at the time in that particular region, and which developed themes of religious devotion. The result is a style which is highly evolved and structured, but also vibrant and lively, extremely intricate and utterly graceful. Kuchipudi uses the two important techniques, which are developed in different ways in each of the Indian classical dance styles: pure dance and expressive dance. Pure dance, nrtta, is rhythmic and abstract. The footwork executes the complex rhythmic patterns of the accompanying music, while the rest of the body, from the head to the tip of the fingers, follows sometimes with forceful precision, sometimes with flowing, graceful movements.

Expressive dance, or abhinaya, is narrative. Here, each part of the body is used to bring alive the text, poem or story, recited in the song. The hand gestures— mudras—are codified into a very precise language. The facial expressions are stylized so as to convey a wide range of complex and subtle sentiments and feelings. The whole body comes alive to communicate the emotions which arise from the song. Kuchipudi is a harmonious combination of these two aspects, where the dancer alternates or blends together, moments of pure dance, rhythmic, bright, vivacious, full of beauty and grace, and narrative moments based on the Hindu mythology, where the focus is on the use of gestures, facial About the Production expressions and body language. The Kuchipudi performance is accompanied by a live, classical orchestra, comprising singing, flute, veena and percussions. The dance, music, and rhythm are very closely interlinked, and each element is developed in relation with the other.

In the field of Kuchipudi, Master Vempati Chinna Satyam has clearly marked the last four decades. Through his dedication, extraordinary talent and sheer hard work, through his collaboration with greatly knowledgeable and sensitive scholars, composers and musicians, he brought Kuchipudi from its little village to the forefront of the artistic scene in India, and also to an international audience. He renewed and restored a diluted and cruder form of Kuchipudi, at a time when it was fading in rigor and vibrancy, forging a very personal, precisely structured, pure and elegant style.

In 1963 he founded the “Kuchipudi Art Academy” in Madras, and from there, created a repertoire of solo dances as well as dance dramas or ballets. Today, thanks to him, Kuchipudi occupies a privileged position among other Indian classical forms, and his students continue his work in and out of India.

CO-PRODUCTION -Centre National de Création et Diffusion Culturelles Châteauvallon; Centre Chorégraphique National de Roubaix – Carolyn Carlson -Per Diem & Co, Marseille -Sunny Artist Management Inc, Montréal, Canada -Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Becket MA USA -International Festival of Arts and Ideas, New Haven CT USA

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Per Diem & Co (Pierre Barnier, [email protected])

TOURING, ADMINISTRATION [H]ikari ([email protected])

NORTH AMERICAN REPRESENTATION Sunny Artist Management Inc. Ilter Ibrahimof –director ([email protected]) www.sunnyartistmanagement.com

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION Compagnie Shantala Shivalingappa [H]ikari – 50 rue Fouré, F-44000 Nantes – [email protected] www.shantalashivalingappa.com Experience more dance with a Workshop!

FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Workshop with Shantala Shivalingappa PHOTO: C.P. SATYAJIT C.P. PHOTO:

June 29 Southern Connecticut State University Lyman Center, Kendall Drama Lab (Blackbox Theater), 501 Crescent St. 10am (1hr 30min) Capacity is limited. Arrive early to secure a spot!

For more information on this and other Master Classes, go to: www.artidea.org/masterclasses PHOTO: LIONEL MONTAGNIER LIONEL PHOTO: You Might Also Be Interested In...

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