Swan lake - · PDF fileRecognized as a landmark in the realm of dance, Swan lake in...
Transcript of Swan lake - · PDF fileRecognized as a landmark in the realm of dance, Swan lake in...
The Center for Mohiniyattam Presents
Swan lake
Overview
"Recognized as a l a n i m a r k ;n the realm of dance" Recognized as a landmark in the realm of dance, Swan lake in Mohiniyattam explores the idiom of Mohiniyattam, the
classical dance form of Kerala in Southern India, via the completely different genre of Western Classical music and high-
lights the natural affinity that Western ballet and Mohiniyattam share, in terms of content, technique, and spirit.
The haunting music of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, which
Vijayalakshmi chanced upon during a performance-tour
of the former USSR, made an indelible impression that
eventually culminated into one of her most challenging
and fulfilling choreographies to date. The urge to corn-
bine two great classical traditions in a seamless Row - merging the alluring beauty of Mohiniyattam with the
elevating music of Tchaikovsky finally came to fruition
with the premier of Swan Lake in Mohiniytam.
"opened to rave reviews" The production opened to rave reviews and has since
been presented over 40 times at major venues across
lndia and internationally. The production came full
circle when Vijayalakshmi had the rare honor of pre-
senting Swan Lake in Mohiniyattam a t the prestigious
Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and at the Conservatory
theatre in St. Petersburg, where Tchaikovsky studied
music.
More recently, the production was presented at the Shared Experience Festival in South Africa. In March 201 3, Swan
Lake in Mohiniyattam will be presented in multiple cities during the Festival of lndia i n Germany, sponsored by the
Government of India.
[email protected] I www. vijayalakshmi.net
Reviews
Many faces of innovation ... So effortlessly did the Mohiniyat-
tam movements match Tchaikovsky's score, dance and music 1
looking made for each other, making the viewer forget this was
a cross-cultural effort. Resulting from the long nursed obses- A - -
sion of Vijayalakshmi, the choreography kept movement faith-
ful to the Mohiniyattam body Ianguage while making it look in-
evitably part of the music. Vijayalakshmi playing Odette also
made a researched selection of relevant passages from the
music... Totally unhampered by the a-rhythmic music, the
rapturous dancing seemed to emanate from dancers l ibera tg
from the tala-bound conventional measurement of time, The pristine white Mohiniyattam costume, the delicate el-
evations and dips with graceful andolika to rso iWy seemed tailor-made for the swan." A discerning foreigner
summed up: "Swan Lake ballet is a clichk. But this! It i s as if Tchaikovsky had composed for Mohiniattam!
- The Hindu The audience was amazed when instead of Swan-girls in usual
ballet skirts, barefooted beauties in Indian sarces with jasmine
flowers i n black hair floated on the stage. Their movements
were magnificent. They told a love story, taken with delight by
the spectators. As for the contents on the performance, the
ardour on the stage was stronger, the colours were brighter
and the artistes more passionate. The sophisticated audience
in Moscow received it with ovation. It turns out t o be so
L pleasant t o destroy the steadiest stereotypes.
i - Russian Press
Rarely has one had the feeling of music and dance being perfectly matched as in the recent endeavour of Swan
Lake i n Mohini Attam based on Tchaikovsky's original music by the Centre for Mohini Attam, under the leadership
of dancer Bharati Shivaji and her discipteldaughter Vijayalakshmi .... This task o f retaining the best o f the music
without giving a feel of disjointed bits put together could only have been achieved by one who had absorbed every
mood in the music by listening to H constantly. Here it was
Vijayalakshmi whose obsessive desire to do Swan Lake in
Mohini Attam after having listened to the music i n Russia and
seen ballet performances was a factor which came to the aid
of the production and in a sense became Its main motivating
force. The fact that many Westerners who are familiar with
the work, while watching forgot the feeling of this being a
cross-cultural work, says a lot for haw dance and music CI interacted. www.sruti.com L rn Ey
- -. Y - - Leela Venkataraman, Dance Critic
FOP additional information: [email protected]
www. vijayalakshmi.net