BENGALURU: A fusion of different dance styles within the contemporary and hip hop culture will come alive for Bengalureans with Uppercut Dance Theater, a company from Copenhagen, Denmark all set to conduct a contemporary dance workshop at the Shoonya - Centre for Art and Somatic Practices, Lal Bagh Main Road on May 5.
Founded in 1982 by Cher Geurtze and Ann Crosset, Uppercut has been creating some hard-hitting shows aimed at different groups of audiences and have also given a whole new dimension to the Danish dance scene. The individual dancers’ different backgrounds in Capoeira, break, physical acrobatics, classical ballet are fused with different dance styles.
Mark Philip, artistic co-director and dancer in Uppercut Dance Theater says, “This is the first time we are coming to India and our aim is to meet with the local dancers and learn more about the Indian dance environment, along with conducting workshops. I have been with Uppercut for the past 20 years and move between styles of Capoeira, break and contemporary dance. Capoeira is basically a fight dance and we had to define our own style to get respect from the crew.”
Philip goes on to add, “It is a contemporary dance company mixing genres such as Capoeira, break dance, hip hop, classical ballet into a new genre that can be called dance theatre. We really like to pick individual dancers who have lots to show through their dance. We try to work with dancers who create their own individual styles.”
The dance company has already completed a one-day workshop and performed at the National Museum in New Delhi. Currently, the team is in Mumbai where they are conducting an interactive hip hop and contemporary workshop with the students of the Dharavi Dream Project, a one-of-its-kind school of hip hop.
Maja Bonde Holtze, producer in Uppercut Dance Theater shares, “We draw inspiration from all kinds of genres. There is a lot of talent in India and we define talent as not those who are trained but those who know how to express themselves as a dancer, create a story in the dance and are open to innovation. So for us, the technique is not important.”
Through the workshops, Philip has begun to understand the tradition in this country within dance itself. “There is an interest among youngsters to look beyond traditional styles and also include their styles into contemporary context,” he says.
The team is looking forward to their collaboration with India in the future even as they are currently looking for a fifth dancer to join the cast of BENCHED, a visual dance performance which is set to play in Copenhagen and tour Denmark, Turkey, and Canada.
The dance company also had a meeting with the Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Denmark in India with whom they are in talks to collaborate for the 75 years of India and Denmark diplomatic relations to be celebrated next year.