Delhi-based danseuse Savitha Sastry was had a brainwave when she saw a limited audience for classical dance performances. “Instead of performing a couple of classical numbers and working around a theme, my husband AK Srikanth and I thought the audience would perhaps like a story. We thought ‘Why not do what movies and Broadway shows do?’.” Using Bharatanatyam as a tool and weaving it into a narrative to tell a story was the idea, she says.
“There are always ways to make classical dance more interesting,” she argues as she begins explaining her solo production Soul Cages. The production is a simply-told story which “captures the cycles of life and death as a journey, rather than an end in itself.” Without revealing much of the story she says, “The end is poignant.”
Since it’s a solo performance, Savitha plays multiple characters. Ask her which character has been the most difficult to play, and she says “Playing the King of Death was difficult. We all have preconceived notions of the King of Death. We see him as someone who is feared by all and is very powerful. In the story, the King of Death is a vulnerable character who loses control to a six-year-old,” she says. “So to change the opinion and show him in different light was difficult for me,” she adds.
Soul Cages, which premiered in January this year is a Sai Shree Arts production, and will be staged today at Music Academy. For details, call 28112231.