Bangalore-based choreographer and dancer Mayuri Upadhya likes to create at her own pace. She likes the flexibility Nritarutya, the well-known dance institution she had co-founded with other artistes, including her sister, dancer and choreographer Madhuri, affords. Her latest project with Madhuri, Dance Seasons, offers a set of workshops for kids for mind and body conditioning through creative exercises and movement training in contemporary dance. She prefers to let things take their own course. “I’ve learnt to let things unfold without any expectations. Plans exist, but time will decide between dreams and reality,” she adds.
Trained in Odissi, and known for her works at Nritarutya, “Lakshmi” and “Kali”, Mayuri gives the technical dimension to the choreographies that leave a lasting visual impact with the use of traditional puppets and props. She says, “To be a professional dancer in the Indian scene you must have the will, endurance, stamina and courage to confront any kind of problem in performance.” Specialising in contemporary dance, Nritarutya has over 100 dancers practising and performing choreographies that are inspired by tradition and mythology. Their signature production, Prayog, the fourth edition of which was held last year, is the highlight of dance calendars in Bangalore. It’s a confluence of not only dancers but also musicians, designers, visual artistes, singers and actors. It uses the dancer’s breath as the beat, body rhythms, aerial performances and street music. “Prayog comprises extraordinary, quirky, out-of-the-box Indian dance compositions. The different pieces of the choreography depict philosophies related with the Indian mythology, the societal structure, Indian traditions and Indian art practices with modern sentiments and influences,” Mayuri explains.
Nritarutya hosts community and body conditioning classes aimed at building stamina and endurance. It follows a tough path to creation and production. Each production takes nearly three years to complete. Each dancer is bound by contract to stick with the show until the performances are complete. The artistes are trained in a particular dance form the choreography requires. It started out as a group of dancers sharing, exchanging and understanding the beauty of the dance forms each of them were trained in. Today, it stands as an institution that represents modern movement in the field of performing arts in India. “We want to promote highly qualitative, artistic and entertaining choreographies in Indian contemporary dance,” says Mayuri, who co-founded Nritarutya with Madhuri, and fellow dancers Sathya BG, Geetha Ballal and Umesh Naidu in 2000. In 2012, Nritarutya was invited to perform at the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II, along with Indo-folk rock artiste Raghu Dixit. “It was a special performance planned with a presentation of over 550 horses dancers, and artistes from across the world to celebrate 60 years of the reign of The Queen of England,” Mayuri recounts.
The troupe also performed for Amitabh Bachchan on his birthday to Madhushala, his father and renowned poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s poems set to music. “The poem being a classic, the real challenge was working over a production of such a magnitude. We had exactly 20 days of work time and I was involved in the choreography and the different aspects of the production, right from the stage and set designing, costumes, styling the look of the characters to lights. We included multiple dance styles bringing together an ensemble of 75 dancers,” she says.
DANCE AND SPIRIT
■ Dancers at Nritarutya undergo a meticulous selection and training process.
■ Prayog, their signature production is an experiment with breath as the beat, body rhythms, aerial performances and street music. Each production takes nearly three years to complete.