“Every time I do a piece it’s a dialogue to meet new people.” says German dancer-choreographer Stephanie Thiersch, who was in Kolkata with her latest performance – Hello to Emptiness- organised by the Goethe Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan. Collaborating Parvathy Baul, the performance blended choreography, spirituality and music and transcended the physical realm in search of the divine. We caught up with her while she was in the city.
Excerpts:
Tell us about the name, Hello To Emptiness
Several years ago I wanted to do a piece about the situation people are in when they are faced with death, separation or disappearance. In the Western world, it is considered as a big void or emptiness that opens up; and the Hello is a means of finding a way to embrace and deal with that situation of separation, loss and death.
How spiritual is the act?
When it comes to the connection where life becomes death or vice versa, we ask questions. Does life continue after death? What does it mean when the physical ‘me’ stops being on the Earth? Is there a spiritual ‘me’ that can continue? I was interested, when I approached this subject, to see what answers we have in Germany and Europe on this matter. But, also met people from other cultures like a Korean Shamman. And India is a country with many cultures and each culture has different answers to that. For this performance we were very happy to invite Parvathy Baul to collaborate.
How was your first meeting with Parvathy Baul and how did this collaboration come about?
I met her the first time online a year ago when I was looking for someone to collaborate with artistically in India. Someone sent across her music which I listened to and it was an instant opening for me. It opened emotional senses and the voice touched me. I thought she would be an amazing person to meet.
Then we talked on the phone over the year and had the feeling through our conversations that we had experiences to share. Some weeks ago I went to Santiniketan to her Ashram, where I stayed for three days. We had the time to exchange songs, thoughts, tell about each other’s artistic approaches, a chance to follow the spiritual path of the Ashram and Baul tradition.
How are you putting together the different beliefs into the performance for the audience?
What is important for me is that the people I invited as collaborators have their own identity as artistes and they bring their own material. These materials keep their individual identity and space. If you create a multi-cultural space, it does not mean we all fuse together, but rather that we co-exist together.
How does the costume play a part?
The costumes were made by Lawrence Steel, an American fashion designer and stylist; inspired by different cultures – Greek mythology, Ukranian folk, Baroque, African , Korean, Indian cultures. She brought this into a dialogue – fluid fabrics reflecting the water symbology and pearls, forming a representation of tears. We also have real water along with the mirror effect on stage.
Tell us about your adventures in Kolkata since you started visiting the City of Joy.
It’s the liveliness and the life on the street that touch me a lot. In the first moments, it was overwhelming because in Northern Europe, where I come from, life is more inside the houses. What I take away from Kolkata are images and information of so many activities happening. And colours! Be it the colours of the sarees or fabrics, smells of incense and spices, and then also the noise, like the honking can be a little overwhelming. But the hospitality of the people they are open, curious and very welcoming. The food is amazing and the different cuisine offers an incredible richness. I like all kinds of breads, daal and spices. Apart from Kolkata, I have been to Purulia and Varanasi for the research.
Is there a thought that has developed from your adventures in Kolkata that you may want to take to stage later?
In Europe we passed long periods of abstract dance forms and we have a tradition of Tanztheatre, which means dance theatre. But that’s a very specific approach. I kind of re discovered the storytelling in dance here. I came across dance –dramas from Rabindranath Tagore . What stories in dance means and how spirituality fuses into the art forms is something I would like to research. All artistes, when on stage, they are more than just the performer. They open up a path to the heart. I would like to discover more means to this path.
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