He is like a spark; she is like a stream. He is calm with grit; she is grace in motion. He is energy in its most agile, vigorous form; she is the lyrical counterpart, with fluidity shaping her movements.
Together, Shafeekudeen B K and Shabana P S embody the classical ideal of duet: as Purusha and Prakriti in the elemental sense, and as Tandava and Lasya in the artistic one, much like the primordial dancing couple, Shiva and Parvati.
They also carry forward a celebrated ‘duet’ legacy that started with American couple Ted Shawn and Ruth St Denis, whose example inspired the husband-and-wife team of Uday Shankar and Amala Shankar.
Many such partnerships followed: Nataraj and Shakuntala, Gopinath and Thankamani, Shanta and Dhananjayan, Radha and Raja Reddy, and Chandrasekhar and Jaya.
In recent times, there have been Kiran Subramanyam and Sandhya Kiran, Parshwanath Upadhye and Shruti Upadhye, and Anuj Mishra and Neha Singh Mishra. Kerala has had its own pairs too, such as Shijith Nambiar and Parvathy Menon, and Aswathy and Sreekanth.
Among the illustrious names in this tradition today are Shafeek and Shabana, who have danced together since their wedding in 2009.
Their distinction lies not just in being accomplished artists who share a stage, but in breaking socio-religious barriers as probably the only prominent Muslim couple in India’s classical dance space.
Art, of course, brought them together.
“We knew each other through performances. One day, a common friend introduced me to her. At that moment, something from deep within told me that she was the one,” smiles Shafeek, a senior Bharatanatyam faculty at RLV College of Music and Fine Arts in Tripunithura.
“It was an obvious choice. She could understand my passion. Moreover, in our community, dancing is generally not encouraged much. I shuddered at the thought of Shabana letting go of dance after getting married to someone conservative.
“So I wondered why not explore dance together, as a couple. That’s how our joint journey began.”
Shabana’s interest in dance carries the legacy of her mother, Husnabanu Sunnajan, who was the first Muslim woman to graduate from Kerala Kalamandalam. At 65, she remains a devoted practitioner and also a guru of Mohiniyattam and other classical dance forms at her school, Nritya Kalanjali, in Thrissur, where Shabana also teaches.
Shabana took her first steps in dance under her mother’s tutelage at the age of five. She later trained at Kalakshetra and learnt Kuchipudi under Vempati Chinna Satyam in Chennai.
“Some people within the community scorned the idea of dance, but my mother’s support helped tide over criticism. Once I got married, Shafeek took over the responsibility of shielding me from censure,” Shabana smiles.
“His family was quite orthodox, but he backed me to the hilt. He has a unique way of dealing with countercurrents.”
Pursuing arts, Shafeek stresses, is in no way a rebellion against any social or religious structures.
“First, I accepted my love for the art in totality. Once that was done, I was able to work around any obstacles,” he says.
“I do not engage in debates. I participate in all gatherings of my community. But when there are objections, I tell critics that I do not indulge in intoxicants, nor do I stray from moral values, unlike some people from my faith who do so. That shuts them up. Those who come to correct me should reform themselves first.”
Art, he says, gave him a way of life.
“The discipline and values keep my inner self intact and focused. In every way, art has only built me,” he says.
Shafeek’s tryst with dance began when he was 15. “I had no prior exposure to dancing. I was in Class 10. One day, I saw some friends training for a performance and expressed my desire to be part of the team. I think we danced to Khaled’s ‘Didi’. That’s when I got noticed,” he says.
“I began to feel an urge to dance. I wanted to enhance my flexibility with classical dance training. Hence, I went to Kalakshetra Kamala Devi, who ran the ‘Malayala Kalagramam’ in Mahe, where I hail from. That’s where I learnt the basics and slowly graduated to advanced levels of study.”
Shafeek recalls how he kept his dancing a secret from his family.
“I used to pay the fees with the pocket money I got from home. I would save up every rupee. They didn’t know for a long time that I was learning dance,” he says.
“Then, one day, I told them I was leaving for Germany for the Hermann Hesse Festival with a team to perform there. Gradually, they began to know whenever I was travelling abroad. There was a lot of opposition, but my focus was clear.”
He adds that he still does not bother about social or religious perceptions.
“There were times when I was denied opportunities to perform at revered temple stages. But I never felt sidelined, because I understand that those places may have a decorum that I should respect,” says Shafeek, who has won several accolades, including the Bharat Kalachar Award and Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award.
Shabana chips in: “There are so many forums for us beyond the shrine stages. Such restrictions need not be turned into an issue.”
Beyond the questions of identity and acceptance, however, it is their artistic partnership that has come to define them. Over the years, they have evolved into a distinctive performing duo, winning recognition on some of India’s most prestigious stages.
Together, they have also won several laurels, including the recent award for ‘Best Dancing Couple’ at the Music Academy in Chennai.
This ‘togetherness’ on stage, however, was not forged overnight. It involved analyses and alterations to synchronise their styles, say the couple.
“He was trained in the Kalakshetra bani (style), while I came from a tradition where I learnt many styles and genres. So, there had to be some corrections to gel with each other,” says Shabana. “My dance is softer and more fluid, while his exudes a charming vigour.”
Together, Shabana and Shafeek have several productions to their credit, the most popular being ‘Radha Madhavam’, based on Jayadeva’s epic ‘Gita Govindam’. The production has also earned their team the nickname ‘Radha Madhavam’.
“My recent varnam (a component in a Bharatanatyam recital) on Lord Ram has won a lot of applause, and so has my margam (a complete recital) based on Jesus Christ,” says Shafeek.
“Form may be what we explore in our compositions, but the ultimate fervour behind every composition is an invocation to a higher energy. It may take different forms, but the essence is the same.”
Their journey, the couple underscore, has also been shaped by the encouragement of senior artists and cultural institutions that recognised their talent and gave them a platform to grow.
Among them, close to their hearts is Soorya Festival, where the duo performed on Tuesday.
“Soorya Krishnamoorthy was a great figure in our dancing career. He gave us opportunities and encouragement,” says Shafeek. “In fact, most of the veterans associated with us were like that. They have never seen our faith or financial status. They valued the art in us.”
Shafeek recalls his association with Shanta and Dhananjayan, with whom he worked for a while, and veterans such as C V Chandrasekhar, who was part of the Kalakshetra team that trained him.
His art has taken him across the world with Shanta and Dhananjayan, and with Chandrasekhar’s team. He has performed at the Indian Classical Dance Festival at Carnegie Hall in the US, and been part of several dance tours with them.
With Shabana, too, he has been places with the art, performing at the Konark festival, the Ananya festival at Purana Qila in Delhi, fests held by the National Centre for Performing Arts, Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai, Swaralaya Samanwayam in Palakkad, and the Nishagandhi Festival in Thiruvananthapuram.
Notably, Shafeek is a Doordarshan A-grade artist for Bharatanatyam, and Shabana is ranked B High.
Dance is what brought them together, and dance is what now keeps them apart. Shafeek works in Kochi and Shabana in Thrissur.
“Weekends, when Shafeek comes home to Thrissur, are when we work together on productions,” says Shabana.
“Our shared interest is not just dance. There is cinema, music, and good food.”
The couple have a 15-year-old son, who is “not much inclined towards dancing”. Who, then, will take their legacy forward? “Our disciples,” the couple smile.
“When we impart what we have learnt over the years without corrupting its core, we create an ambience of honest art. That will take the legacy forward. We must work towards clarity in identifying with what we do. We did so with dance. Our souls dance in sync with our bodies."