‘The Inner Move’ by Sapphire Creations Dance Company brought Michel Casanovas & Eveline Noth together for a meditative dance showcase
In a world quick to choreograph every move, The Inner Move: Flowing Floating, Dancing dared to pause, listen, and feel. Presented by Sapphire Creations Dance Company founded by Sudarshan Chakravorty as the culmination of its 16th INTERnational Choreographers’ ‘Residency’ in Sapphire (INCRES), this intimate showcase on June 4 at the KCC Amphitheatre brought together global artists, dancers and musicians in a dialogue of bodies and breath. Leading the flow were Michel Casanovas, French dancer and Feldenkrais practitioner, and Eveline Noth, Swiss musician and Craniosacral therapist, who shaped a quiet storm of movement and sound with 18 performers over a 10-day residency. We spoke to the two collaborators about honesty in motion, the sound of silence, and what it means to truly move. The event also marked the seventh anniversary of the Subijoya Dance Foundation, founded by Sudarshan Chakravorty in memory of his parents Subinoy and Bijoya Chakravorty—an emotional note in a performance already brimming with inner truths.
Michel Casanovas and Eveline Noth on honest expression, collaborative listening, and why choreography sometimes needs to be unchoreographed
What inspired the concept behind the residency and this performance?
Michel: When I work with a company, the idea is to help people find their own voices—not just dance to choreography. We encourage listening to the first instrument: the body, especially the legs. Do we even notice them? Do we listen? The performance was shaped around this listening. We didn’t come with a fixed script—we asked the participants, what do you want to express? From there, we shaped the residency. It’s about creating open space to question and express.
How did you balance individual expression within a collective performance?
Michel: It was very collaborative. Some were eager to express, others preferred being in the process without being at the forefront—and we respected that. The aim was to connect to the inner self. As a musician too, I recognise patterns I repeat unconsciously. This work helps bring awareness to those habits, and through that, every movement becomes unique. With 18 dancers, each was individual, but deeply connected through the same process.
If you could describe ‘The Inner Move’ in three emotions or movements?
Michel: Joy.
Eveline: Freedom, peace, and lightness.
Eveline, what sonic textures did you explore to create the atmosphere?
Eveline: Music and movement have always been inseparable for me. Sometimes, I dance a classical piece to understand it better—it reveals something I can’t grasp just by playing. Here, I observed the dancers’ movement and created a sound that flowed with their rhythm. There were still points, accelerations, slow and fast movements—like waves. I also worked with silence: the space between sounds, or silence within sound. Water, floating, and breath were key inspirations. I used wind and string instruments from Indonesia, Turkey, Europe… each one adding a unique layer.
How do you see music’s role in amplifying—not just accompanying—dance?
Eveline: We don’t follow each other—we respond to each other. It’s a real-time conversation. Sometimes, I play something slow while they move fast—or vice versa—and yet, it works. Because we’re in the same emotional space. That’s what matters: being attuned to the moment, to each other. When it’s not connected, it falls apart. But when it is, even opposites make perfect sense.
How is this collaboration coming along for both of you?
Michel: I’ve been to India before, and every time the exchange is beautiful. This residency was no different. It was less a performance and more the outcome of a deep artistic process—with dancers, actors, and students all contributing.
Eveline: It’s my first time in India and working with Sudarshan, though Michel and I have collaborated earlier. What excites me is how dance inspires the music, and how that music, in turn, inspires new movement. It’s a constant loop of creation. I’m learning so much—not just artistically, but also emotionally. This process is asking all the right questions.