Rooted through art: The Feet on Earth festival is back in Hyderabad, connecting the audience to nature

With Vriksha as the motif for this edition, the festival is back with a bang. Indulge speaks to the artistes about their respective forms.
Mesma Belsare
Mesma BelsareG's Photography
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Dance is a form of expression transcending all linguistic barriers. It connects you with the audience and with your inner self, serving as a form of communication and introspection. Due to the amalgamation of both, the impact it has on the audience is profound. As it is a form that breaks linguistic barriers, there must be a platform which breaks the barriers within dance itself, and bring all forms together. This was one reason why Pujita Krishna, a Kuchipudi dancer and curator started The Feet on Earth festival two years ago.

“I felt like there should be an inter mingling of all forms—folk and classical—under one banner. This was missing in Hyderabad,” Pujita says. An attempt to bring art, culture, history and ecology on the same forum, every year follows an underlying motif around which some of the productions are themed and the venue is chosen. Water and Earth being the motifs for previous editions, this year the motif is Vriksha, meaning tree. The venue is also chosen with this in mind, a space with abundant greenery surrounding a building of historical importance.

Pujita Krishna
Pujita Krishna

Following the motif for this year, Srividya Anish presents Nruthya Harikatha, exploring the connection of trees with Gods, nation, kings and saints. Harikatha as a form is an amalgamation of Bharatanatyam, music, theatre, abhinaya, poetry and storytelling. “I will be presenting stories which explore the importance of trees in building relationships, and how it has contributed to building our nation in a spiritual way,” she explains.

Pujita’s performance, Vriksha Sakhi is about the connection between women and trees. A contemporary Kuchipudi presentation which includes dialogue with dance, this production draws from Sanskrit verses like the works of Kalidasa and Karpuramanjari among others. “I touch upon the concept of Dohada, which is the longing a tree has for a woman’s touch, and how essential it is for the tree to blossom. Running on similar lines is the concept of Shalabhanjika — figurines in temples, of women holding branches of trees and flowers. A few verses are also drawn from Meghaduta, and a Kannada folk tale,” she says.

A performance further exploring the concept of Shalabhanjika is an interactive showcase by Maya Dance Company. “The story behind Shalabhanjika is that Maya, the mother of Buddha was holding a tree while giving birth. This is symbolic of the pivotal role a woman and a tree in blossoming. We have come up with original poetry, to which we are emoting with Bharatanatyam vocabulary and contemporary movements,” Bhavana, the founder of Maya Dance Company explains. This performance has two segments, the first a presentation of the concept itself, and the second, an interactive segment where the audience will be taught simple movements to join the troupe in the performance.

Aditi Bhagwat
Aditi Bhagwat

Kriti Stories also presents an interactive performance culminated with a tree walk facilitated by Kobita Dass Kolli. This presentation, an amalgamation of dance, theatre and improv, showcases the wisdom a tree carries. “A tree is a live system which exists for decades. A part of multiple ecological systems like the food chain and photosynthesis, it also has a consciousness, which translates to wisdom,” Pallavi Verma, the founder of Kriti Stories explains. In this interactive performance, she will give the audience an object through which they will communicate with her through the performance, breaking the fourth wall.

“I think people need to open up to newer ideas in classical dance and present it in a way which involves the audience more. Breaking the fourth wall is the best way to do that rather than a simple performance,” says Aditi Bhagwat, a Kathak dancer presenting Laya ki Kahani in this festival. Her performance showcases the concepts of time, pace and speed. She presents a piece on Shiva, another item where she introduces the concept of mathematics involved in the creation of time in dance, and then moves on to Gathabhav, a piece inspired from French techniques of miming. Gath, she explains, is the pace at which a character moves, and bhav — growth and life which stems from this movement. Known for her fusions, this production has a lot of Asian instruments to replace the Sitar and Sarangi.

Maya Dance Company
Maya Dance CompanyNIHAAR POTHAKANOORI

Speaking about fusions, she says that the process starts with a ton of curiosity and understanding the raw art form for its true value. Instead of looking for similarities, she first identifies the differences and works around that. “It is only when you respect the differences that you enjoy the commonalities,” she says.

Mesma Belsare, a dancer presenting Shilpanatanam, a narrative dance form which blends visual art and experimental movement, agrees with this. “I think experiment comes from the curiosity of knowing that something lies beyond one’s known ambit of comfort, of knowledge.” Along with Maya Kulkarni, she explores various ancient texts in this performance, but with an element of visual art added to it. Shilpanatanam, Mesma explains, is any iconography that triggers an idea for dance which is then fully explored within the parameters of Indian aesthetics of movement. Choreographed by Maya, this production explores the Pada Bhedas, the Narsimhavatar and Ardhanareshwar among others.

Kudiya tribe
Kudiya tribe

The Feet on Earth festival will also host a performance by the Kudiya tribe of Coorg — Urtti Kott Paat accompanied by the Dudi instrument; and a fine art showcase titled Tree of Life by Bhaskar Rao Botcha.

Free entry. January 18 & 19, 5 pm onwards. At The Hyderabad Public School.

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