While FutureFantastic is a first-of-its-kind AI and new media arts festival in India, it will also herald the premiere of Palimpsest, the latest production from Madhu Natraj’s Natya STEM Dance Kampni. This mixed-reality and mixed-media production by transcontinental collaborators showcasing the hurt and hope of climate change will feature as the headline act of FutureFantastic. We caught up with Madhu Natraj, director of the Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography and founder of its performing wing Natya STEM Dance Kampni, who also choreographed this piece, to find out more.
“I have always leaned towards the concept of climate action and especially since we are in a climate emergency and nobody can ignore it anymore! I have dealt with it in the past by creating pieces that talk about the environment and about the concept also, but was very inspired when FutureFantastic created this festival platform for engagement through AI and other mixed realities. They engaged with us for almost a year and they created a cohort of around 24 artistes from varied backgrounds — like tech art, theatre, music and dance and from across four continents. I was one of the four mentors, the only one from India and was dealing with somatic practices and choreography. I was to help create pieces around climate action and though most were art installations, I was also asked to create a headlining piece for the festival — a confluence of the theme, the use of AI and a meeting of sorts with performative arts. I couldn’t refuse and that’s how this whole collaboration came into being. We’re probably one of the first (dance) companies in India to do this, ever!” says Madhu enthusiastically.
This piece traces our march into the 21st century with successive layers of environmental change, often resulting in desecration of the earth. This changing climate and shifting world has left behind myriad climate migrants and refugees. But in their voices, the piece hears the potency of the natural elements—the cornerstones of philosophies from around that world—that must be the guide to rejuvenation and regeneration.
“We called the piece Palimpsest in the sense of something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form, much like our earth. Yes, nature keeps changing things around, but the kind of exploitation and change to the earth created by the anthropocene epoch is unprecedented. Also, since we are from Bengaluru, we decided to use our city as a microcosm for the anthropocene. We decided to look at this through the elements that are angered, disturbed and going haywire. We were also very conscious about not doing a production that further triggered climate anxiety, which is an actual reality now,” adds the choreographer.
What is really exciting is that the whole piece runs parallel to images created by AI and that the piece’s vocabulary is very contemporary. But what really sets this piece apart is that the sutradhar is a video bot. “We got this narrator created for us and she’s called Kria and she’s really cool. She keeps the piece together and announces every piece in prose. We’ve collaborated with a lot of people on Palimpsest, including Jiayu Liu who is creating some incredible AI art using the performances by the dancers. We also have a collaborative piece with MD Pallavi that focuses on climate migration and we’re representing the huge migrant populations from the Sundarbans who have had to move due to environmental degradation, rising sea levels, flooding etc. Parvathy Baul also came on board the project and shared with us a song that her grandmother used to sing to her and it was very relevant to our piece. This piece will also see some funky imagery created by Sam Mohan. The finalé however will be dancers and the crew engaging the audience in embodied interconnectedness, something I think only the arts can do, in a song of rejuvenation,” concludes Madhu.
6.45 pm onwards. March 24. At Bangalore International Centre, Domlur.
romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal