‘Yashti’ performance by Hemabharathay Palani at Odisha Biennale-2017
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP
Bhubaneswar: Bangalore-based dancer Hemabharathy Palani who represents the contemporary times has performed at the Third edition of Odisha Biennale-2017 at Mindtree Kalinga Campus in the city. She is scheduled to participate in a workshop for contemporary dance for young aspirants as part of the ongoing cultural event. Palani portrays a multi-layered woman through anecdotes by reenacting other characters on the basis of Yashti theme. She also displays haunting emotions of love, jealousy, confrontation and redemption.
Talking to Orissa POST Palani said she was inspired by the lives of working women in Bangalore and tried to portray their daily grind in a dance format. “I have met many women from various walks of life. Every woman has her own life and tale to narrate. In ancient narratives, there used to be characters like Akka Mahadevi and Meerabai whose stories of emotion, love, jealousy, devotion and valour deserve depiction.
Precisely, paying tributes to these characters means we are paying tributes to Womanhood. Palani, who works as the rehearsal director of Attakkalari Centre for Movement of Arts, Bangalore, also takes part in choreography and teaching. A refined
Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam dancer, she is associated with Attakkalari Repertory Company. She is also trained in performing ballet and Kalaripaiattu yoga. A few excerpts:
Q-What gives you utmost satisfaction as a performer?
A- I’ve tried to create a space for my audience. What I had experienced in classical forms like Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam is that you cannot amend in case of a slip. Odissi is also a highly accomplished art form. In the contemporary dance forms, however, if there is a mistake you can erase it like we do in case of a pencil sketch and restart all over again.
Q- What major themes you had chosen for your dances?
A-As a dance practitioner, I had performed on themes such as child sexual abuse and transgenders’ sexuality. As a performer, we should question ourselves about the impact our performance may have on the audience. I have tried to associate a bit of autobiographical element into the themes which can connect the audience.
I had danced in several countries including Germany, Brazil, France and the US. But audience behaviour is same, whether in India or abroad. I had also performed in Orissa earlier as part of the crew of Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts. I have found performance in Orissa gives inner peace and satisfaction.
As a choreographer, where do you excel?
As a choreographer, I had worked both in national and international films. I had also featured in Swedish Television show ‘Kultur-iFarozonen’. I had choreographed a dance film Toss, produced by a UK production house. I worked in some TV shows and regional films as assistant choreographer. For example, Kamal Hassan starrer ‘Uttama Villain’ Work on the stage is far different from film choreography. We do not have a tradition of making films on the basis of music and dance although our film industry thrives on music and dance. In films, you can take several retakes. You can go backward and forward, but on the stage you cannot go backward or forward. It has to be present. Your whole performance is based on the particular moment on stage where I excel…
