WHAT makes a great artistic production is when the delivery is compelling enough to its viewers, without them questioning the decisions behind what is being presented.
From the get go, Sutra dancers of the #Males,too! performance swathed on stage, bound to one another by emoting melodramatically against a live narration that carried the audience along from start to finish.
The give and take of energy and the “crescendo of momentum” that was promised during a pre-show interview was certainly celebrated with warm intent.
Those that were lucky enough to catch the opening show last Friday at Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC) would have understood this fact and caught the ripeness and energy of the performance.
The one and a half hour Odissi based performance was presented across five different dance brackets, starting with an homage to (Lord) Shiva, before the dancers were sent off to carry the conceptualised choreography across.
Being mindful of the contours (in dancing), Sutra pulled in the focus with a blossoming Pallavi piece, a sort of pure dance configuration, stripped of story and characterisation, accompanied only by music. The slow and graceful display of movements which gradually builds in tempo and intricacy as the music unfolds had us watching fervently.
Of course, no Odissi performance is complete without an Abhinaya demonstration, or in this case a poem-in-action dance interpretation.
Sutra maintains the purity of its style and continuance of a tradition with romantic compositions set in a tempo where the dancers depict the emotion by soft gestures and glances so we are able to gain the full meaning of the piece. In some aspects, the feeling is close to a lullaby that soothes the mind and body, even if you are not the one performing.
One that was particularly entertaining for the writer, was during a presentation of a piece related to the lure and mysticism of the serpent Kaliya, or Kalinga, at a time of contemplation and culmination of a devotional practice. It was a moment that truly invited the audience in on the routine as soon as the story was introduced by the Sutradara (narrator).
The great deal of practice and coordination proved to be effective, as the show’s troupe simply showed great poise and appeared unflustered.
More so, when we see the younger ones were able to maintain such poise when faced with a missing music beat, a slight hiccup halfway through the first half of the show – establishing an understanding among those in attendance that these performers are true showmen.
It’s refreshing, to say the least, when you get to witness dancers not only prosper both technically and artistically, but also in delicately portraying cohesion to the audience despite having individual steps to execute.
Much can be said about the performance, either pedantic or in simple context, but the solid cast delivered what the production set out to do.
What is interesting about Indian classical dance is that one does not need to pretend to know the art in its entirety to appreciate the intricacy of it. Odissi itself is not meant to be valued through a stiff understanding, which is what makes #Males,too! intriguing as it mixes masculinity (dancers) and femininity (forms), unapologetically.
Adding to the enthusiasm is when a diverse audience could even be heard expressing amazement over the level of vigour put out by the boys when each piece was successfully presented.
Have a go at experiencing the show yourself, and maybe you would get a chance at understanding it fairly. – The Vibes, June 26, 2022
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