Samyoga — The Divine Union looks at celestial marriages which are based upon love, writes Subhadra Devan
MARRIAGE and love drive bharathanatyam dance Samyoga — The Divine Union, an original show by Kalpana Dance Theatre.
Its co-founder, Shangita Namasivayam, says the dance “derives its form and substance from the love aspect of our puranas and kavyas, seeking to draw us closer to God by finding the best contentment in life through holy matrimony”.
Samyoga is choreographed by India’s P.T. Narendra. It looks at celestial marriages which are based upon love.
Narendra applauds Kalpana Dance Theatre for being innovative and creative in its ideas for its productions. Touted to be the best bharatanatyam dancer of his generation and now a renowned choreographer, he says: “I have not known of an Indian classical dance drama with five different love stories woven into one production. We have tried to make this performance vibrant, emotionally enriching and visually colourful.
“The first marriage (Meenakshi Kalyanam) takes place between a warrior princess who falls in love with her opponent. As for the second marriage (Sita Swayamvaram), though the hero and heroine fall in love at first sight, the hero wins her hand in marriage only after winning a mighty contest.”
The third segment, Rukmini Kalyanam, is about “a young girl who is in love with the Lord (and) has to fight all odds, including her elder brother, to win her love.”
In Shakuntalam, a king on a hunting expedition is captivated by Shakuntala, the daughter of a great sage.
“Lastly, in Valli Thirumanam, Lord Muruga disguises himself to win the heart of a gypsy girl in the forest.”
For Narendra, choreography is not only about setting movements to the music, but also “a process from the very beginning”.
“While brainstorming for ideas, the first spark for this concept came across when Shangita, lyricist Dr Va Ve Subramanyam and I met in Chennai. As he added his expertise with original lyrics, the music composer K. Hariprasad made it sensational to the ears.
“The first half of the production includes three stories, all of which have action/fight scenes. It was exciting to make each of the fight scenes different from the other.”
Since all the five stories depict marriage, says Narendra, much thought had to be put into making the celebration of each marriage different from that of the other.
“The chosen five stories needed a script to suit a two-hour dance production.
It took a year to evolve through a process of editing stories, writing new lyrics, composing music and lastly, the dance choreography.
“All the lead dancers are well experienced with performing, but the important part was to bring them together at heart, to coordinate their dance styles, and above all, to transform them into the various characters that they are portraying.”
Samyoga boasts a Malaysian ensemble of 43 dancers and will be performed to live music by Sivabalan Shanmuga Sundaram on mridangam and Muthuraman Ganesan on percussion, among others.
For Narendra, recorded music does not give the dancer room for improvisation. “On the other hand, live music gives the dancer room for improvisation and the opportunity to express freely.”
On the appeal of a traditional Indian dance production to a non-Indian audience, he quotes Kalakshetra founder Rukmini Devi: “Dance is not only an entertainment, but is also education through entertainment”. The stories portrayed in Samyoga express philosophies of life and will continue to remain current through the ages.
Samyoga — The Divine Union
When: Jan 21, 7.30pm
Where: Shantanand Auditorium, Temple of Fine Arts, Jalan Berhala, Kuala Lumpur
By invitation from RM50
Call 017-725 672