RDM team had a super run this year. The Indian festivities are over as we get ready to embrace the holidays. In a month's span we did 4 shows before I squeezed in 2 lecture demonsrations. All of them were highly demanding. I had been the one wondering why there was such a lull after our mega Aug 1st show. God certainly heard my complaints. The test was my endurance to withstand the pressure of changing repertoire and gruelling rehearsels.I thrive on such challenges. Nothing makes me more happy than counting the number of shows we need to do.
I started learning dance to find a little joy in this alien land. Little did I know the call of stage grows on you. I love the groups where I can feel the vibes and energy of my team. Switching gears to do the solos is extremely challenging but once on stage everything else is forgotten-it's only the dancer and her audience.
Winter isn't a quiet sabbatical for us. We learn new pieces getting ready to hit the stage for summer. Most conferences and festivals are booked in July. August is the only time off before we get into the Puja frenzy.
This year I had the added excitement of 2 shows during Diwali. We presented a totally different repertoire at the ESU campus. We had a challenge to top our last years performance. It is always a joy to be at a college campus, feeling the buzz and enthusiasm of the students. The audience was spellbound by our stunning rendition of Bollywood classical songs. It was a departure from our all classical repertoire. A lot of thought and practice had gone into making our choreography novel and refreshing, yet true to our pure, classical Odissi technicalities. The Diwali dhamaka was there in our Bollywood beats.
One more show lined up for me in December at the prestigious Sruti event in Philadelphia, when I go back to performing timeless pieces from my Odissi repertoire. Then I too can get into the Christmas spirit. Let's hope the new year proves to be more successful and challenging than this one.
Showing posts with label Philadelphia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philadelphia. Show all posts
Friday, November 19, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Girls night out in Delaware
Delaware was the surprise this season. We were excited to be going to a different neighborhood. The RDM team went in 2 cars, stopping at places to pick-up dancers en-route to Delaware. I-95 was notorious as ever; the traffic heading for a game in Philadelphia. Some of us had to do make-up & hair in the car.
It was a hilarious car ride. We knew that even though we had split up, all of us were practicing the same songs, since we could see heads and hands moving in unison in two different cars. Practically all of us drive nowdays with one hand on the steering, the other in a mudra. Facial expressions is practiced on all other drivers. Driving to a venue is always adventurous. It's the drive back later in the night which is awful. You feel so drained out that no amount of Dunkin Donuts works on the system, all you want to do is sleep.
The organizers had a killer dinner waiting for us. We were royally treated. Having always had a diet of samosas, Gatorade or energy bars this was a treat- something unexpected. We had to dance after eating the mithai and batura. Fo the Aug 1st show, we hadn't eaten anything the entire day. What a contrast? It's a bad idea to bring us food before our show but all that drive made us forget our usual discipline.
The dances went without a hitch. We had a different sequence here since Guru Mitra was dancing and some of our dancers were not there. All this had to be co-ordinated in less than a week. I did my solos and disappeared to help with the costume changes. Suddenly there was loud applause, I literally ran on to the stage to find my series of group dances starting. If I didn't enter at the right minute, the rest of the dancers would be stuck on stage.
It was a rare treat to watch our Guru dance. I never watch any dancer before I perform but I too couldn't let this moment go. I had to be there to understand the essence of the moment. Videos would never bring the same feelings in me. Her Bangla dances to Tagore's poetry were a big hit with the puja crowd. Standing in the wings we could learn first-hand how to emote & captivate the audience. Mitra's fast paced Odissi piece, Battu dedicated to Nataraja had us all spellbound by her complex footworks. We were charged up to do our pallavi. The pace and mood had been set by Mitra. We had to keep the momentum going.The audience equally appreciated the classical pieces and the Bangla songs. This was well worth the travel!
Show over, having wooed the Delaware folks we switched back to Mommy mode. I had made numerous calls before going on stage trying to fix my son's imaginary tummy ache but I knew it would disappear the second he reached his friends house. Still all of us were crazy worrying about dinner and bed time, none of us were in a mood to enjoy the puja festivities. Strangely, all we wanted to have was a regular Saturday night, reading to our kids and tucking them in bed. But we are dancers, this is our version of Girls night out.
It was a hilarious car ride. We knew that even though we had split up, all of us were practicing the same songs, since we could see heads and hands moving in unison in two different cars. Practically all of us drive nowdays with one hand on the steering, the other in a mudra. Facial expressions is practiced on all other drivers. Driving to a venue is always adventurous. It's the drive back later in the night which is awful. You feel so drained out that no amount of Dunkin Donuts works on the system, all you want to do is sleep.
The organizers had a killer dinner waiting for us. We were royally treated. Having always had a diet of samosas, Gatorade or energy bars this was a treat- something unexpected. We had to dance after eating the mithai and batura. Fo the Aug 1st show, we hadn't eaten anything the entire day. What a contrast? It's a bad idea to bring us food before our show but all that drive made us forget our usual discipline.
The dances went without a hitch. We had a different sequence here since Guru Mitra was dancing and some of our dancers were not there. All this had to be co-ordinated in less than a week. I did my solos and disappeared to help with the costume changes. Suddenly there was loud applause, I literally ran on to the stage to find my series of group dances starting. If I didn't enter at the right minute, the rest of the dancers would be stuck on stage.
It was a rare treat to watch our Guru dance. I never watch any dancer before I perform but I too couldn't let this moment go. I had to be there to understand the essence of the moment. Videos would never bring the same feelings in me. Her Bangla dances to Tagore's poetry were a big hit with the puja crowd. Standing in the wings we could learn first-hand how to emote & captivate the audience. Mitra's fast paced Odissi piece, Battu dedicated to Nataraja had us all spellbound by her complex footworks. We were charged up to do our pallavi. The pace and mood had been set by Mitra. We had to keep the momentum going.The audience equally appreciated the classical pieces and the Bangla songs. This was well worth the travel!
Show over, having wooed the Delaware folks we switched back to Mommy mode. I had made numerous calls before going on stage trying to fix my son's imaginary tummy ache but I knew it would disappear the second he reached his friends house. Still all of us were crazy worrying about dinner and bed time, none of us were in a mood to enjoy the puja festivities. Strangely, all we wanted to have was a regular Saturday night, reading to our kids and tucking them in bed. But we are dancers, this is our version of Girls night out.
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