THRISSUR: As a group of women clad in traditional attire and dancing animatedly to folk songs like Karinkaliyalle, it first made waves on Instagram. And, after stepping out of the screens and the boundaries of traditional dance, team Alingalamma has proved to be one of the star attractions of this festival season.
One could argue that the flood of performers and performances have dulled interest in thiruvathirakali, and Alingalamma, with its fusion-oriented, energetic moves set to folk music, is attempting to reinvent it. The troupe’s 16 members, all hailing from the coastal village of Perinjanam, in Thrissur, have been travelling across the state for their performances.
While the team first called its form ‘kaikkottikali’, impressed audiences termed it ‘veeranatyam’, while some dubbed it a version of ‘vattakkali’. Call it what you may, this team of traditional thiruvathirakali dancers is now highly sought after, with performances being booked with advance payments.
“The group took shape some five years back as an occasion for women in the locality to gather and learn dance. Initially, the focus was on traditional thiruvathirakali. But, Covid restrictions prevented us from travelling for performances. The easing of lockdown had us thinking, and we came up with the idea if spicing things up by adding folk songs. But traditional thiruvathirakali failed to keep pace with the new peppy music, and we explored incorporating other dance forms,” says Jincy, the group’s programme coordinator who also works at the Irinjalakkuda Civil Court.
“The team first performed their version of ‘kaikkottikali’ for Onam last year. A video of the performance, shot by local mediaperson Sandeep Pothani, went viral on Instagram and other social-media platforms. People started talking about us and we started getting a lot of enquiries. “We currently have bookings till Onam season this year and our preparations are going well,” Jincy said.
The members of the group are from divergent circumstances and age groups. “From a Class 9 girl to a 38-year-old, it’s the passion for art that drives us,” said Sindhu Madhavaraj, the oldest. “The selection of the songs and choreography are done by members themselves. Only two of them have learned classical dance, while all others carry art within.”
The group comprises homemakers, working women and students, but members ensure that they gather every evening for practice. “We are getting many booking requests. But since some of us have jobs and some are students, long tours are not practical. Still, we are making the best of the overwhelming response,” Sindhu added.