TA_LA

In this series, we at Nritarutya explore modern expressions of Shiva and Parvati’s ancient dances. Shiva’s Tandav - the beat of masculinity, and Parvati’s Lasya - the softness of grace, reminding us that life is about balance, and life is about equal energy. Together, Tandav and Lasya are Ta_La, or the rhythm of the universe.
Mentor, director of Nritarutya, Mayuri has an innate love for mythology. In this series, she extended her thoughts, born from texts about these ancient dance forms, to the team. She inspired in us the evolution of these ancient stories as a relevant celebration in today’s times. She believes it is important to appreciate a contemporary take for contemporary times. We live in a time where we are evolved emotionally to understand that gender stereotypes and energies are transient. A man can exude feminine grace, a woman can command power through innate masculinity. In fact, gender itself is no longer a binary thought.
As we responded to her thoughts and visions, we learned to ponder, reflect, and respond to the grammar of ancient dance. As she so rightly put it, narratives evolve over time. But concepts remain timeless.
Often called Shiva’s dance of rage, Tandav is reflective of the cycle of birth and death. It is also reflective of the five energies that comprise the Universe. Srishti, or creation, Stithi, or perseverance, Samhara, or evolution, Tirobhava, or illusion, and, Anugraha, or freedom. Tandav is a manifestation of primal, rhythmic energy. Perhaps one of the most common images of Shiva is him dancing as Nataraja, the divine dancer.
To Ashwin, for the contemporary version of Tandav he expresses annihilation and release, focussed and directed, destructive and formless, calm and peaceful. ‘These are the expressions of the seven types of Tandav I chose to create a contemporary choreography. The feeling is mostly inspired by the music and the movements are responsive, straight from the gut. Strong and grounded yet light and fiery when needed. An emotion that can't be explained which is an amalgamation of various feelings that the 7 forms create if they were done at once.'
Concept and Direction - Mayuri Upadhya
Classical choreography - Latha B.S
Dancer - Ashwin Kumar
Video and Editing - Samuel Adams

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