Khoj

Jan 05, 2020

08:30 PM - 10.00 PM

Natarani Amphitheatre
Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, Usmanpura, Ahmedabad, India

With Tickets. Rs – 500/-

2020-01-05 20:30:00 2020-01-05 22:00:00 Asia/Kolkata Khoj ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT At the heart of my inspiration for this piece is the idea that if you search for the beauty within an unshaped space, the poetry inherent in the physical body will be revealed, and the spirit of dance will be expressed, similar to how a sculptor searches for the statue hidden within the uncut rock. For me, then, the search (Khoj) is on many levels. There is the primordial urge to search that each of us feels at various stages of our lives, leading to a place through the Thaat (the delicate movements of the wrist, neck, eye glances, eye brows) in Kathak. There is a search for the Sum (the first beat, always the most important and heavily emphasized of a 16-beat rhythmic cycle), and finally, there is the ultimate inner search through a choreographic unraveling around the theme of finding the inner essence. In India, I came to the realization that Khoj is about the journey, not just the destination, just as art itself is about process as much as it is about performance. As a mature artist, I find that I am still searching for more and more, creatively. I want to continue to learn and to explore, and I went to India to collaborate and work with other artists to examine this idea of the search. I received a grant from the City of Edmonton last year and it allowed me to conduct preliminary research in India. In Bangalore, I worked with Madhu Nataraj, an acclaimed Kathak dancer, teacher and choreographer. Together, we explored the connotations of the vastness of the term Khoj. Imagery, soundscapes and literature became the three reference points from which the most inspired movement motifs began to emerge. I have, in fact, made a piece about the search itself. I have contented myself here with Khoj. Source: Facebook. Natarani Amphitheatre Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, Usmanpura, Ahmedabad, India Creativeyatra.com info@creativeyatra.com

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

At the heart of my inspiration for this piece is the idea that if you search for the beauty within an unshaped space, the poetry inherent in the physical body will be revealed, and the spirit of dance will be expressed, similar to how a sculptor searches for the statue hidden within the uncut rock.

For me, then, the search (Khoj) is on many levels. There is the primordial urge to search that each of us feels at various stages of our lives, leading to a place through the Thaat (the delicate movements of the wrist, neck, eye glances, eye brows) in Kathak. There is a search for the Sum (the first beat, always the most important and heavily emphasized of a 16-beat rhythmic cycle), and finally, there is the ultimate inner search through a choreographic unraveling around the theme of finding the inner essence. In India, I came to the realization that Khoj is about the journey, not just the destination, just as art itself is about process as much as it is about performance.

As a mature artist, I find that I am still searching for more and more, creatively. I want to continue to learn and to explore, and I went to India to collaborate and work with other artists to examine this idea of the search. I received a grant from the City of Edmonton last year and it allowed me to conduct preliminary research in India. In Bangalore, I worked with Madhu Nataraj, an acclaimed Kathak dancer, teacher and choreographer. Together, we explored the connotations of the vastness of the term Khoj.

Imagery, soundscapes and literature became the three reference points from which the most inspired movement motifs began to emerge. I have, in fact, made a piece about the search itself. I have contented myself here with Khoj.

Source: Facebook.