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DECEMBER 3, 2001 BHARAT SHARMA “Antardeham…(Between Bodies)” Born in a family of dancers, Bharat Sharma’s career in the performing arts has spanned more than three decades as a dancer, choreographer, teacher, musician, writer, technician and administrator. His eclectic training in traditional and modern dance techniques in India and USA has helped him evolve a distinct style that is fresh and unbound. His performances explore a range of narratives, movements, gestures and abstract forms. He has performed solos to critical acclaim at major national and international festivals including East-West Encounter (Mumbai), Nav Nritya (Calcutta), NSD’s Natinal Theatre Festival (New Delhi), American Dance Festival (USA), La Danse a Aix (France), and Festival of Indian Performing Arts (Germany). An abstract piece, “Antardeham…(Between Bodies)” is a world premiere that explores space in dance. The choreography, music and dance are by Bharat Sharma. In this contemporary dance, Bharat and Tripura Kashyap represented the two bodies moving into open space at first and then in and around cubicles.

At what point in the development of this piece did you add the sets on stage - the 3 cubes? They seem an integral part of this dance. Were they present from the beginning or they came later?
I needed some forms on stage and the idea was there from the beginning. After a few rehearsals, we knew if we did not decide on the shapes, we wouldn't be able to move further.

At what point did the music come in? Was that also after the moves, after the choreography was done, or simultaneously?
Since I've done the music, I was playing with certain ideas right from the beginning; even before I started dancing. As I worked on my movement sketches, the music also evolved. It was a work in progression.

What were you trying to say in your body language?
At one level, I was not trying to say much; I was just trying to dance. There's no kind of a theoretical narrative behind this. This work is in strong contrast to my earlier works and I wanted to work without a narrative. That was my first step towards making this piece. I wanted to do an abstract dance. The idea developed from there. I was not trying to say anything particular, just trying to use the space around, weave the body around the cubicles. Initially I had seen this work as a solo. I wanted to use certain kind of geometrical progression, angular movements, personalized language and usage of space being the dominant factor.

In contrast to your narrative productions, there seems to be a breakaway of fluidity of movement in this work.
As you say, I've broken away from my earlier work and at some point in time, I felt I must redeem myself. In terms of my work, I wanted to break with my past, do away with certain repetitions. I don't know how far I'm successful because this is my first performance of this new work; I have to test certain things and I'm reasonably satisfied with the overall structure. I haven't done an abstract piece for long. Fluidity is related to the kind of work I do because in certain cases, there is a need for lot of fluidity. In the first section, the idea was to have fluid movements, certain symmetrical kind of movements, which are amplified more when done as a pair rather than as a solo. So, the first section is quite symmetrical though nowadays that has no appeal. I tried to create fluidity within that togetherness. That's why, what started as a solo, became a duet, I gave an image to it. That's where the emotional play comes in which I wanted to avoid.

You started this as a solo, but the movements of one body would have changed when the piece became a duet. It must have changed the character of the piece.
I knew I clearly needed another partner in the first section once the movements developed. Now I can visualize it as more than a duet too. I gave her (Tripura) short notice and asked her to partner me in this piece. By that time, the musical score was already in place. She used to improvise, I used to improvise and we used to pick and choose, almost like editing to see which movements worked best and had the best flow. To be frank, I never wanted to be a soloist; I always wanted to work in a group. But due to compulsions, I've gone solo.

Contact: sharmabh@hotmail.com

The Other Festival Q & A: Audience Artist Interface