Mora speaks of the way the lockdown has helped artists introspect and dig deep within to unlock what has been distilled over years of experience. “Ultimately it became a time to reflect on whether dance as an articulated expression can go beyond tours, performances, masterclasses, lec-dems, presentations, and arts education,” she says and Varadkaar quips in with: “At the end of the day every artiste needs to organically connect with what s/he is performing. Without that the very essence of art, especially the performing arts will die.”
Can performing artistes do that without a live audience’s reaction and appreciation? A template for that may emerge with Prayaag 2021.
Over the last four weeks, danceuses Varadkar and Mora (in Mumbai and Stuttgart respectively) have gone with a trio of dancers each through their cities and filmed them dancing in different places. Each dancer had the opportunity to express themselves personally for about three minutes. Short texts in their own language and in English, make a statement about the times that we live in without stages, theaters and dance studios. “The decisive message that emerges from the editing of the various films is the understanding of boundaries through dance, which has not suffered any withdrawals in its beauty and expressiveness, which continues to exist and has become the elixir of life for many artists,” says Mora.
The docu-feature to be showcased at the ‘Weinfest’ of Stuttgart meets Mumbai 2021 will have its Indian premiere on Monday and will be part of a special three-day long virtual celebration of dance where both the dance gurus will be in a discussion with noted Kathak exponent Piyush Raj on the new challenges facing the world of performing arts in general and the world of dance in particular.
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