SEVEN youths aged 15 to 24 will be showcasing their creativity in movement via the kathak, bharathanatyam, odissi and contemporary dance forms in 7 Dances 7 Dancers.
Odissi exponent Geetha Shankaran Lam, 49, has guided the dancers of this intermediate-to-advanced performance stage, and two of her children will bear testimony to her rigorous training.
Sangametra Yuiyuan Lam, 16, will be using text and vocals to her odissi performance called The Torrent, set to a Lord Shiva song.
While she began her dance training at age 5, her current pursuits of yoga and long-distance running has built her discipline and enhanced her love for dance.
“I found that dance is one way I can communicate by myself, alone. It gave me the confidence to be the person I am right now. I chose to study dance so that I can understand what my mother goes through and how she expresses herself just by movement. Through dance, I can feel every minute thing about me as a whole.”
Geetha’s son, Arunagiri Szeyuan-Lam, has set the social media buzz late last year with his dubstep-hiphop set to Shri Mahesh Raghvan Krishnaa Nee Begane Baaro (Krishna! Come Hither Soon), a well-known Carnatic song.
The 18-year-old Giri, who has a yen to study sports medicine, has been dancing for the past 12 years.
He will soon perform with dancer Rathimalar Govindarajoo in her duet-collaboration for the Penang Arts Festival from April 28 to May 1.
For 7 Dances 7 Dancers, Giri will be presenting his own choreography in Colonial Cousins' Indian Rain.
To Hariharan's dulcet baritone, Giri has intertwined contemporary dance moves in his piece called Melancholy. Giri had help in coming up with his hip-hop Indian fusion piece from Mohammad Khairi Mohammad Mokhtar.
“Dance makes me feel good and I’m always in pursuit of that elusive, transient experience of being connected, of being in beauty,” says Giri.
Johor Baru native Wong Wan Ying has a dance diploma from the National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage, majoring in bharatanatyam.
The 24-year-old will explore a newer bharatanatyam repertoire of the Kalakshetra dance style in Broken Mirrors. Presenting her own choreography, she says: “In dance, I experience a happiness and satisfaction I’ve yet to experience in any other activity.”
Another 24-year-old, Vaishanee Fenisan, is undergoing teacher's training and had to overcome a few obstacles to start dance classes.
According to Lam Ghooi Ket, writer-director and teacher at GSD, Vaishanee's longing to dance was a secret desire. She could only start at 18, and had to come to terms with pain, loss, low self-esteem, anguish, and disappointment, before taking on odissi, kathak, bharatanatyam, contemporary dance, and Carnatic vocals.
Set to perform an odissi duet, she says: “Dance is an ultimate form of expression.”
Peraveen Maniam, 18, will do a solo bharatanatyam piece, Loving Shiva, after two years of training with Geetha.
With no formal background in dance, and watching YouTube videos of the best in Indian classical dance, especially bharatnatyam, Geetha said she was amazed at what he had learnt which will be showcased in this Jathiswaram, a traditional pure dance piece that highlights the unity of music, rhythm and movements.
Another 18-year-old is Lethiadharshini Ravichandran who loves the fusion or Bollywood style. Under Geetha, she took on odissi, and now studies bharatanatyam, kathak, and contemporary dance. She is set to perform an odissi duet.
The youngest of the ensemble is Eshalinee Sitharasu, 15, who has been studying bharatanatyam since she was 7.
She took on odissi under Geetha and will showcase a kathak piece, Hymn to Him, set to a Lord Shiva song. She will be joined by Wong. The kathak items were taught by Nayanika Ghosh Choudhury.
Says Geetha: “The cast have been taught and trained in the original items in their class work, but portions of it have been reworked to suit the programme. This is to allow them to exercise their ability to sing, enunciate and dance.” — By Subhadra Devan,
IN BOX:
7 Dances 7 Dancers
When: April 21-22, 4.30pm.
Where: Geethashankarandance Studio+Haven, Menara Sentral Vista, Brickfields, KL
After the 75-minute showcase, there will be a question-and-answer session to encourage the young performers to learn to engage with the audience on their show and preparations.
Admission: RM30.
Call 017-626 6725 or 014-612 0249.