When the second year diploma students of Attakalari Centre for Movement Arts performed at their studio space last week, the distinction between performer and audience was blurred, both physically and emotionally. This was achieved by the close proximity between the two, as well as an emotional connect born out of the concept the entire 45-minute performance was based on — the physical community that transcends divides of political, cultural, religious or sexual nature.
The concept was created by Finnish dancer-choreographer Marje Hirvonen, on which she worked together with the students of Attakalari for the better part of a month as part of her residency programme at Max Mueller Bhavan. Hirvonen, who was on her second visit to India, says that working with students from such diverse backgrounds and bringing them together to identify with and perform the concept of a physical community was the most rewarding part of her visit.
“My last visit was seven years ago when I was a student. I visited Chennai and learnt some traditional dance forms like Bharatanatyam, besides some martial arts. Every time I come, it takes me a little while to get used to the huge cities and traffic, but once I am settled in there is a lot to take in. This time, I went to Mysore Palace, saw a Bollywood movie and gazed at some elephants,” says the Cologne-based Hirvonen, who spends her time teaching, performing and working on her own projects while in Germany.
According to her, getting students to identify with the different style that she brought to the table was not a huge challenge because of the physical language of dance, which she used to get her point across. “Some choreographers don’t talk much, but express ideas physically, so the conversation is more on that level than an intellectual level. I prefer to give my inputs and then have the students work on them so that they understand through performing.”
The performance centred around a sense of loss of identity and control upon identification with a community, which Hirvonen likens in simplified terms to the scene at a rock concert.
Now that she is done with her final presentation as part of her residency, it is back to Cologne for Hirvonen, where she is presenting a solo performance that she has been working on since May. “And in December, I will be working on the same project I presented here with students in Germany. I think that will be an interesting experience.”