The camera pans over an ancient fort, where an irate king is being soothed by his court dancers. The camera now zooms on a young fairy in a silk sari, alighting from above, her wings slowly fluttering. Eyes twinkling, she begins to dance, her gait as light as that of a heavenly sprite.
A handsome onlooker, stunned by her ethereal beauty, falls in love. The fairy is Kathak dancer Shivani Varma. The scene is part of a short film created for a fashion label. “The life of a dancer demands complete immersion,” beams the confident Varma.
Indian classical art forms such as dance and music, according to purists, are for traditionalists who can understand and appreciate the nuances. But the 36-year-old is repurposing dance as commercial art in order to take it to less-rigorous watchers. She is no ingénue; a former lawyer, Varma has been trained by the best names in modern Kathak such as Pandit Birju Maharaj and Shovana Narayan.
“There is lack of awareness of classical arts among Indians, which makes it challenging for young artistes to make a career in it,” she says. The dancer, however, has an extreme opinion on the classical discipline, blaming a post-colonial hangover of Indians that glorifies looking to the West as trendsetters, which doesn’t allow us to appreciate being Indian. “In the field of performing arts, we have one of the most complex, developed and cerebral systems. We should be an example for others follow,” she insists. Varma’s a la mode style melds well with strategic collaborations that could appeal to a contemporary audience. Her stage repertoire is eclectic for a classical dancer—fashion events like India Couture Week, literature festivals, theatre productions and art exhibitions at venues considered ‘popular’ by the culturally curious.
Varma’s method is unique, since she stays true to the technicalities of Kathak, experimenting only with narrative and presentation. One proof of her success came after she danced at the wedding of AR Rahman’s daughter, which led to a creative partnership with the famous composer. Her next performance is scheduled for the upcoming Sufi festival Jahan-e-Khusrau in Jaipur later this month. She is both the lead dancer and choreographer in the dance ballet ‘Moomal’, a tragic love story from the Sindh-Rajasthan region; the director is Muzaffar Ali. “I have principally been trained in the Lucknow gharana. For this show, however, I’ve chosen bandishes or technical pieces with bols associated with the Jaipur gharana because of the regional context, though it would have been easier for me to work with my own taaleem,” she says.
Varma’s other ongoing projects include a recital in collaboration with designer Varun Bahl, and Jashn-e-Sahar, which celebrates the life and legacy of Urdu poet Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi ‘Sahar’—she will dance to his ghazals sung and composed by Mohammed Rafi. Varma will close the year with a concept-based recital that highlights the influence of Kathak in Indian cinema at the Metaphor Literature Festival in Lucknow. “The influence of Kathak is so vast in films that I am spoilt for choice. There are cinematic pieces by maestros such as Pandit Birju Maharaj and Gopi Kishanji. From Paakeezah to Mughal-e-Azam, from Devdas to Bajirao Mastani, Kathak has been celebrated in many cinematic works, making the songs and dances evergreen.” Kathak translates songs and dances into unparalleled beauty,” she says. Varma is making a fairytale with Kathak, but reimagined with her own idiom.