CHENNAI: They are dancers rooted in their respective styles, but for celebrated Kathak and contemporary dancer, Akram Khan and Spain-based flamenco artiste, Israel Galván, crossing over for a dialogue between the two forms is a challenge they both love. And, ‘Torobaka’ is exactly that — a conversation between two dancers from completely different cultures.
Legend says that kathak and flamenco have a connect dating back to the time when Indians migrated to Southern Spain many years ago and they took along with them their dance and music. But their dynamics are completely different — as flamenco is aggressive and kathak is subtle and more steeped in spirituality.
London-based Akram, who spoke to City Express on the upcoming show ‘Torobaka’, which will be staged in the city on Thursday, maintains that the production is not an attempt to show the similarities between the two, though he agrees they are similar in ways one cannot explain. “Israel literally came to me with a knife and an aggression that is archetypal of flamenco,” he chuckles. “We shared a lot of material about our dance forms and neither of us attempted to learn the other during the course of rehearsals. It would be an insult to even attempt mastering them in two or three months. What we want to show is how two forms can be choreographed in a way that no other kathak or flamenco dancer can or ahas even attempted to,” he adds.
In contrast to many of his story-based productions like Until The Lions which is based on the story of Amba from Mahabharata or Desh which talks about land, tales and their convergence into the human body, Torobaka is ambiguous and draws a little from a maori-inspired phonetic poem by Tristan Tzara. He says, “The production draws equally from cultures where both toro (bull) and vaca (cow) are deemed sacred. But that is just an inspiration; the production is more ambiguous and doesn’t follow a story line or narration.”
The 70-minute dance production, however, as exciting as it could be, has also been a challenge for both dancers. “It was challenging in an exciting way and not an obstacle. We are from two different worlds and while he is wiry and tall, I am smaller — there are so many differences. But yet we got out together to explore a different world,” he says.
Bringing the production, which began its tour across France, Spain and England in June last year, Akram is set for its Indian premier in Chennai. While there has been a rousing reception for Torobaka across the countries, Akram says Chennai is always a special place for a performer. “Spain had this explosive response to it in their typical way and English audiences were polite, while the French were direct. In India, I like Chennai and Bengaluru — the former has the beauty of the past in the present, while the latter is like present in the future,” he points out.
Akram, who began training in the Kathak when he was seven, reveals a secret — he was keen on learning Odissi. “It was my mother who decided to make me learn kathak and I began training under Pratap Pawar. The initial choice was between Bharatnatyam and Kathak and she chose the latter because it combined Hindu and Islam cultures,” he says.
Torobaka which is being presented as a part of the ninth edition of The Park’s New Festival 2015 by Prakriti Foundation, in association with The British Council, will be staged at 7pm on Thursday at Sir Mutha Venkata Subbarao Auditorium.