Dancing is like dreaming with your feet, they say. The annual Renaissance dance festival organised at Triveni Auditorium in Delhi, was just that: a sequence of vivid dreams. Triveni is known for celebrating the reunion of Indian classical dance forms; it revels in surprises.
Nearly, half the dancers who performed—two out of five—were from underprivileged backgrounds, without a legacy. Himani Gautam is one such dancer. A resident of Delhi, Himani came under the tutelage of renowned Kathak dancer Rekha Mehra nine years ago. “I was 15 when I met my guru in this city.
For me, Kathak is not only an art form but has given me another identity. I used to stitch and knit to make ends meet. Now, I also work as a dance teacher,” she says. The other dancer, Gaurav Javada, is from Sujangarh in Rajasthan. “My sibling and I are the earning members of the family. I used to learn Kathak from a guru back home. It was a few years ago when I met Rekhaji and started getting more opportunities to perform and polish my skills under her supervision,” says Javada.
Rekha Mehra, who taught both Himani and Gaurav, has been a celebrated Kathak artiste for over 44 years. Mehra started taking a keen interest in teaching the art form to children who don’t particularly come from artistic backgrounds. She says, “I started teaching young girls who would come home to put henna on Karvachauth and Diwali. I realised these children have a lot of potential and an innate desire to learn.”
The festival, directed by Milind Srivastava and Ajay Bhatt, who have curated dance forms like Kathak and Odissi, reflects their vision to create a platform for underprivileged artistes.
Free Flow
Seasoned Odissi dancer Sushant Maharana left the audience spellbound when he showcased the rich heritage of Odissi through his performance titled Dashavatar. Maharana performed wearing a traditional blue dhoti, pleated for movement. “The classical dance form of Odissi is different from what it used to be. I come from the guru-shishya parampara. My father was my guru. I have seen two generations before me performing this dance form, but a lot has changed. The makeup and jewellery are different from what they were. But there is one thing that remains the same—the free-flowing form of this expression,” adds Maharana.
Pallavi Lohani captivated the audience with an arresting Kathak performance depicting the essence of Devi Durga. Dressed in a traditional off-white outfit with a Banarasi red dupatta, Lohani combined poetry with movement to aid in the worshipful storytelling. Her performance exhibited Durga’s divine feminine energy that represents power, strength and protection.
Lohani says, “I strictly practice shastriya Kathak nritya. The ‘Bollywoodisation’ of Kathak gives a half-baked understanding of the art form. Bollywood is suppressing the original form of Kathak.”
Beyond the Stage
Milind Srivastava, the co-director of the festival, says that it was also an ode to the backstage artistes who were left jobless during the pandemic. “I have been a light designer for 30 years. Post-Covid, we started reviving this space for artistes. We approached the Ministry of Culture, and they helped us with grants. We started exploring opportunities overseas as the West is also taking an interest in the Indian classical dance forms.”
