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The engaging style ofAbhinava Dance Company's Rang makesit a winner

melded and fosedimo oneanother even moreso witheverymovement and pirouette.

BYAVICHANDIOK

To excel,we have to work very hard,"tirupama andRajendra say during an interview priorto theirfirst performanceatthe Adelaide Fringe 2017."There are noshortcutsco success.Especiallyin dance,whichisverytransparent. Ourdance has tobe a veryhonestexpression and forthatwe haveto keep ourselves healthy outside and healthyinside, youknow,which issoimportant.lechallenges us,itis cough inthat,butbecausewelove whatwe do,it isnot aburden.Weliterallylive andbreathe danceso (eventhough)itisphysically strenuous,wedon'tfeelthestrain we loveit!"

Heady wordsindeed. A philosophy not justfor dancebutforlife, orshould Isay morecorrectly,for asuccessfullife.

Three dancers Nirupama andRajendra, founders of theBangalorebased Abhinava Dance Company,and Rohini performed Katl1ak andBharatanatyamwith amodern twist in tl1eirshowcalled Rang(Colour). Andcolour ittrulywas,withstunningly elegantcostumes where the colours

ThefirstdanceTara/Jghadthebenefit of energeticmusicwhichperfectlyledand accompaniedthe Kathakdanceperformed byNirupa.maandRajendra.Theirpolished, engagingstylewasjust lovely to watch asthey played with theaudiencewith movementand expressions,andimpressed withtherhythmsandpatrernsof smmd createdby tl1eghzmgntsontl1eir feet.

Mostly Indiandance performancesare givenonlybyfemaledancers. InRang Rajendrawas an equalpartnerinthe performance.Thisgavegreater synergy, andgavethedance more compelling patternsastheycouldrespondcoeach other'ssequences,tochallenge each oilier or dance inharmony. And who could resist theoccasional teasingintimacyof glances betweenthem.

Thenextpiece VarshawasW,enothingI badseenbefore.Monsoonsare revered in Indiabecausetheyprovidetl1esustenance co life. The dancegavethestory of tl1e expectationof rain,tOthe first drops and then thejoyof playing in tl1edownfall asthecloudsbreak.Quivering lingers on lowering arms depictedfallingrain.Claps of thundermadethefemaledancerjump withfright.Playful splashingof eachotl1er addedcothefun.Itwas alovely piece withcostumesin shades of peacockblue in.keepingwiththemonsoon season.As Nirupama reminded us,wth ahintof a smile,icwasthetimewhenpeacocksdanced andalsotl1etime whenladiesfeltromance intheair.

The AbhioavaDanceCompany is amajor organisationindieartsinIndia.lirupama explained,''Wehaveacostumedepartment (in wb.ich) wehave1000costumes.We haveour ownsoundrecordingstudio and a performing company withover350 students." lewasalso interestingtonote thatthedancerscome from ajoiJ1tfamily of 72steepedintheartswith discussions of Sanskrit,philosophy,anandmusic all around them.WithvisitorssuchasRavi Shankar,BriuMaharaj, Arnjad ALi Khan, BhimsenJoshi,tl1ere wouldhavebeen no shortageof inspiration.

Soitwasnosurprisechatthe performancewas of suchahighstandard. Our dancersa.reholders of thehighest artist"N' cop grade on IndianTV andhave performedto wildlyenthusiastic audiences worldwidenorto mention tl1eirhuge social mediafollowing.Theyhavealsobeen the recipientsof Indian and international awards fortheircontribution co dance.

Rohin.i,theyoungestmember of the group,performedPtmchvatidancing thestory of Sitaintheforestassheis captivatedbythegoldendeerthat entices her away.Images of deerand ocher animals were teasedout with gestures. This was acharming,playful piece choreographed to musiccomposedbyPtRaviShankar andPhilipGlass.loabeautifulcostume of green and deepred, Rohioidanced the romance of Ram andSita.There was a modern elementto thedanceas thestory unfolded. Had weseenaflltlltestarin the makinghere?

There was areasonwhy R.ti!(gwasso satisfyjng. AsRajeodra explained, "It's likeamovieproduction. Differentaspects come together. It'snotjustthe dance; of course wegivealotof importance ro that,but apartfrom_that,thecostuming, tbelightiog,thestagetechniques,allthose thingsare.involvedin this.It's acomplete production soit immediately connectswid1 tl1eaudience."

Andthesmallstagesettingdrew the audienceineven closer as we shared d1eir joy andloveof dance.

Intheintroductionto thefinalpiece Tash11,Nirupamatalked abouttheinfluence of gypsies,whomigratedtoEurope,onthe SpanishFlan1enco styleof dancing.This dancewasKathakwithawesterntwist.The plain purplecostumestook somegetting usedto astheeyeshadearlierbeenfeasting on sparklingcolonrandglitz.

Danceishardwork,Isaid.Nirupama replied"lthasgivenussomuchjoy,lifeis suchbliss " lehadbeena magical evening,lovedby the audience and onenotcobe missed.