A French study on Indian dances

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Roven Roy French dancer and choreographer Annette Leday, along with French film director Cyrille Larrieu, presented their book and film ‘Dance India Today’ at Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum on January 5. Alliance Francaise director Eva Martin inaugurated the event. Renowned Kathak dancer Daksha Sheth and Australian- born composer Devissaro launched the book. Daksha, Annet te, Cyri lle and Devissaro also held an interactive session after the launch. “My book is a survey on Indian dance which I conducted before the pandemic outbreak,” said Annette.

“Indian dance is known in France only for its traditional forms. I decided to explore new dance forms and showcase its 21st-century image,” she said. “I hope my work inspires people to take interest in Indian dance” she added. Annette’s research on Indian dance took her to many cities. “I travelled across interviewing and filming artistes, dancers, choreographers and critics,” she said.

“I’ve tried to approach as many subjects as possible both in terms of artistic as well as practical terms. I created a delta of knowledge, which I then organised into chapters,” she said. “Dance is all about movement, and Cyrille Larrieu’s film gives movement to the book ’s structure.” Annette’s book showcases artists who’ve innovated classical Indian dance forms.

“The ones who’ve broken the system a bit,” Annette said. “Kumudini Lakhiya, a Kathak dancer, choreographs group performances when traditional per formance s have one dancer. Preethi Athreya has radically innovated upon Bharatanatyam. Astad Deboo pioneered new approaches to dance,” she said. The book also explores innovations in dance, the new themes explored by artists, their creative process, funding and more. Cyrille Larrieu’s film is composed of excerpts from Annette’s interviews. “This film is just the start, it supports the book.

Annette and I were a bit frustrated while editing the film as it shows a lot of talking heads and not many clips of dance performances,” said Cyrille. “We’re working on a new film that ’ll include more dance,” he added. Navtej Johar, Preethi Athreya, Mallika Sarabhai, Anoushka Kurien and Vikrem Iyengar are among the dancers featured in the film.