ST. LOUIS: The St. Louis community was treated to an enchanting spectacle of dances as Missouri’s premier Indian dance company, Dances of India, held its 33 rd Annual Premier Performance at Washington University’s Edison Theatre on Oct. 8-9. Asha Prem is the Artistic Director of the company.
The feature presentation was The Songs of Scheherezade—an original production, based on the tales of the Arabian Nights. The company presented magical, and often humorous, spins on the tales of Aladdin, Ali Baba and Sinbad.
Poonam Sheevam and Trisha Bhat played the roles of Scheherezade and the king, respectively. Both are dancers of exquisite grace. Poonam’s dance was touched with an acrobatic flair, while Trisha played her masculine role convincingly.
The sets, crafted by Ila Mehta, were elegantly executed. A glittering green square of material was used to show Ali Baba’s cave, while simple netting against the scrim gave the exotic illusion of a ship of yesteryear. Ali Baba’s thieves hid in cloth barrels, a particularly delightful scene.
In addition to The Songs of Scheherezade, guest artists Sanjay Shantaram from Bangalore, India, and Patrick Suzeau from Lawrence University, Kansas, performed. Mr. Shantaram performed vibrant, graceful Kuchipudi on Oct. 8 when he also performed the standard dance-upon-a-brass plate with a passionate joie-de-vivre. On Oct. 9, he performed Bharata Natyam, including a splendid devotional song on Rama and a joyous Thillana about Hanuman. His range of expressions are extraordinary.
Mr. Suzeau, a professional modern dancer, performed a trio of heartfelt pieces of tightly controlled grace, in a style which fused elements of Odissi and modern.
The children’s matinee on Oct. 8th was also a delightful performance. This was not your ordinary children’s performance where kids, quite simply, do what they want. These children had been rigorously trained, and it showed. Many group dances had more than ten performers; one particularly awe-inspiring dance was based on the adavus of Bharata Natyam. Twelve young girls performed this piece, which had been choreographed so cleverly, it offered surprises to the audience at every moment, as girls shifted in-and-out of elegantly constructed patterns.
Ashwin Patel
