Merging of two worlds

BENGALURU: Looks like the best of both cultures are coming together with Ashareeravani: Sound Without Body, an Indo-Japanese co-production between the Japan Foundation, New Delhi and city-based art organisation Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Bengaluru. While the Bengaluru leg of the show was recently held at Bangalore International Centre, the group will be performing at AJ Hall in Kochi on January 20.

The performance features award-winning choreographer and dancer Ryu Suzuki from Dance Base Yokohama in Japan and Hemabharathy Palani from Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts. The dance production marks the third phase of the project, Scape. Due to the pandemic, things have been done virtually but this time Ryu will be performing live.

The last two editions had only one performance, this time there are two solo performances by Hemabharathy Palani and Ryu, and one duet from them. “The focus is on the dancers’ narratives and movements. The dancers connected via zoom first, sharing life stories, their histories and then brought all this information with their bodies into the studio and worked intensively for five days,” says Jayachandran Palazhy, founder of Attakkalari.

Ryu, who has been collaborating virtually and will perform the routine live in front of the Indian audience, says he is ecstatic with the welcome he received here. Apart from the solo act by Palazy and Suzuki, dancers from both the countries are coming together for a duet.

On the stage

‘Never thought it would’ performed by Ryu Suzuki. A solo work created by Suzuki, reflecting on the artiste’s life.

‘Scape’ performed by Hemabharathy Palani . An Indo-Japanese multimedia work that explores vignettes from the lives of two individuals who have never met offline.

‘Interlude’ performed by Palani and Suzuki. It marks the long-awaited
meeting of Suzuki and Palani and reflects on the spaciousness that the pandemic afforded them, and highlights the value of contact and personal connection.