Sharmila Mukerjee presents Hansika, an Odissi adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake

We speak to the dancer about the upcoming production 
Sharmila Mukerjee presents Hansika, an Odissi adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake

Noted Odissi dancer Sharmila Mukerjee first heard of the Russian ballet, Swan Lake, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, when she was around seven, learning ballet in Kolkata. “A pictorial book on Swan Lake was my first introduction to the iconic production. Everything about Swan Lake was grand and beautiful. I was moved by the choreography, costumes and the story,” Sharmila reminisces. She has always loved experimenting with new and unconventional themes and hence decided to showcase this ballet through Odissi. The production, called Hansika, with her ensemble Sanjali will be staged this weekend.

The story is about a love affair between Prince Siegfried and Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorceress, whose curse can only be broken through true love. “Through Hansika, I wanted to portray a Western classical theme through an Indian classical dance form. When I watched Swan Lake, I felt that the graceful movements, elegant postures, sculpturesque poses and intricate footwork lend themselves naturally into the fabric of Odissi,” she explains.  According to her, the story and the emotions portrayed work well for abhinay or expressions in Indian dance forms.

Sharmila says it was easy to adapt the ballet to an Indian setting as the elements and the emotions in the tale are universal. For example, the elements of black magic seen in the story are familiar to us through Indian stories. “The script for Hansika took a while because I wanted it to blend well into an Indian context. I wanted the storyline to be simple, appealing and easy to understand for the audience,” she expounds. The elaborate production features 25 artistes. The music has been composed by Praveen D Rao. “He has done a wonderful job of recreating Tchaikovsky’s signature tune using Indian instruments like sitar, flute and tabla,” she adds. They are already planning another performance in Bengaluru soon and since there is a lot of interest in other cities, Sharmila plans to take this across India. 

Rs. 500 upwards. March 30, 6.30 pm. At Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Malleshwaram


  anagha@newindianexpress.com
  @anaghzzz

 

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