Dancer Navia Natarajan's latest solo production titled Virodhabhasa- Paradox aims to investigate the profound nature of paradox through the poetic syntax of Bharathanatyam. The abstract piece was conceived by the artiste when she was presented with the opportunity last year to orchestrate a piece for the Mandala Arts and Culture, something which would push her out of her comfort zone.
“I was mulling over the topic — so what do I bring about? Then I had a random conversation with one of my aunts, where she said that life is a paradox. And that stuck with me for a long time and I started mulling over it. I realized that there were a couple of things that happened in my life, which did align with the topic of paradox. It was then that I created a storyboard about what paradox means to me,” she said.
The idea for the performance stemmed from Navia's experience of losing her father who passed away in 2018. Speaking about it, she added, “In 2016, he was diagnosed with cancer. So at that point, I realised that while we knew we were losing him, there was sadness at one end, but there was also peace and some kind of love and happiness too. I did not know why one would experience these two conflicting emotions. Perhaps that's why the topic of paradox resonated with me. That's how the whole production came about.”
The performance first debuted as a film which was released online for two weeks in November and received a warm reception from the audiences. Talking about it, the artiste said, “I was quite happy with the reception I received because a lot of people told me that a couple of things that I did for the performance resonated with them. Perhaps each one felt a very different emotion. But they knew exactly what I was trying to say. And it was very gratifying.”
Talking about the performance today at the Bangalore National Centre, Navia said, “More than excitement., at least for me, as an artiste, I look forward to how the pieces will unfold on stage. Because when we rehearse, we try and do our best, then when comes on stage, it's a very different feeling. The space is different, the energy is different. However, I'm more excited this time around also, because this is the second time I'm dancing at Bangalore National Center. I am excited to bring my solo production to the venue to see how this work would be received by the audience.”
The performance will take place at Bangalore National Centre on April 7. 7 pm onwards. Entry free.