By Kedar Mishra
How to sustain a chaotic procession after having a meditative experience of perfect bliss? The last evening of the Konark Festival was a blend of terrific and terrible. One show springs you up to the highest pick of artistic bliss and the other one pulls you down to chaos, indiscipline and meaninglessness. After watching supremely talented Bharat Natyam dancer-choreographer Vaibhav Arekar and his group presenting a show of perfection, power and creative illumination, it is futile to talk about concluding presentation of Odissi dance drama by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi research centre.
Vaivab Arekar is not only a masterly dancer but he is one of the finest choreographers of our time. He trained and nurtured his group with such discipline that hardly one can find a fault line in their presentation. The Mumbai based Bharata Natyam group began with an invocation to Soorya, the Sun God. The smooth and philosophical representation of solar power was portrayed through lyrical lines and circles. Vaibhav intelligently avoided the usual literal translation of literature into dance, rather he reflects more on between the lines. The second presentation was a superbly crafted Jathiswaram. The harmony of music, rhythm and movements had a mesmerizing effect. The concluding piece was Shri Jayadeva’s “Dasavatara” from the Geeta Govinda. It’s always difficult to work with an often used text, as the popular imagination of the audience is set to particular expectation. Viabhav is extraordinarily innovative in his own portrayal of each Avataras. Blending fast, not so fast and slow movements he goes beyond the probability and presented a choreography which speaks a new geometry of dance.
Yes, Vaibhav’s choreography has have elements of geometry in void. He can create squares, circles, triangle and many more geometrical formations in space. Not a single inch of the stage remained unused during his presentation. His choreography is as smooth as a Raaga itself.
The final presentation of the evening was a dance drama set in Odissi by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi research centre. Lesser told about the choreography is better. The premier government institute of Odissi dance fail to communicate a simple story line called Hansaduta (the swan messenger). Nor there was clarity, neither discipline. It was a terrible bunch of confusion. It’s a dance drama for what and why, remained hanging in the air.
This year Konark festival had a mixed bag of experiences. Out of five Odissi productions only Ratikant Mohapatra and Swapnarani Sinha can stand up to the mark. Rest is disastrous. Bharat Natyam by Viabhav Arekar, Kuchipudi by Raja and Radha Reddy and Mohiniyattam by Jayaprabha Menon registered their golden signature. It was expected a bit more involvement and maturity from Shama Bhate’s Kathak group.
In the entire show, Odisha Tourism shines as a brilliant brand. Event making ability of Odisha Tourism deserves few high words.
