PURUSHARTHA ( 60 MNS )

Attakkalari’s multi-media production PURUSHARTHA is the result of an intense collaborative effort between Jayachandran Palazhy, artistic director Attakkalari and Kunihiko Matsuo musical director and digital artist, Japan. Conceived and developed over an extended period of research that included trips to Japan by Jayachandran Palazhy and stints at Attakkalari, Bangalore by Kunihiko Matuso.

Other key collaborators from Japan include Mitsuaki Matsumoto sound designer, and architect Naoki Hamanaka who designed the sets.

Choreographed by Jayachandran Palazy and performed by Attakkalari’s repertory company, the movement language is reflective of contemporary India yet like most of Attakkalari’s work influenced and informed by Indian physical and performance traditions ranging from the martial art form of Kalarippayattu from Kerala, to the classical dance form of Bharathanatyam.

A stark Zen-like, pristine white stage and backdrop designed by Hamanaka are transformed by Kunihiko Matuso’s digital wizardry. Layered imagery, constantly evolving and ever changing, respond to the dancers movements.

The dancers, led by Jayachandran, bring to light the emotional portrayal of a society in India, torn between the philosophy of her past and the stark reality of her present. Vibrant images from contemporary India metamorphose into abstract geometrical shapes resulting in a rich tapestry of aural and visual imagery, taking the audience through an electrifying and moving viewing experience.

Matsuo’s unusual and innovative score, further embellished by Matsumoto’s live digital sounds, combine with the seamless layers of light and shade that take the viewers back and forth between the real & the imaginary, the traditional & the modern, the philosophical & the practical in a unique sensorial journey that both assaults and embraces the senses.

Known for his cutting edge choreography, Jayachandran engages with the concept of PURUSHARTHA (roughly translated as ‘meaning of being’) through what is essentially an exploration into individual dilemmas, a journey through temporal and physical spaces, weaving in experience and imagination and resulting in a spectacular production.

Performed to packed audiences, PURUSHARTHA had its world premier at the Biennale Bonn in May 2006 and toured most of the major festivals in Europe, including the Venice Biennale, Frankfurt Book Fair, Munich Contemporary Dance Festival, Bologna Festival of Contemporary Dance, Poland Contemporary Dance Festival, Dusseldorf International Dance Festival, the Monaco Dance Forum and the Julidans Festival, Amsterdam. PURUSHARTHA has also been performed in Japan.

A team of brilliant young dancers trained at Attakkalari and led by Jayachandran himself, perform with agility and athleticism, their sinuous and sensual movements sometimes austere and at others sumptuous, casting a spell on the audience.

At the forefront of the Indian contemporary dance scene, Attakkalari’s performance is visually stunning, energetic and entirely unique. Across Europe and elsewhere PURUSHARTHA has received standing ovations from enthralled audiences.

Key Collaborators

1. Jayachandran Palazhy ,Artistic Director

Jayachandran Palazhy has trained in India in the dance forms of Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Indian folk dance and Kalarippayattu martial art, and in the UK, in Contemporary dance at the London Contemporary Dance School. He has also studied Ballet, TaiChi, Capoeira and African Dance and has toured widely in India as well as internationally. He works extensively as a freelance choreographer, teacher and consultant in different parts of the world and is in the forefront of the contemporary South Asian dance scene. His work often involves digital and interactive technology and he has collaborated with some of the most celebrated artists of this genre.

2. Kunihiko Matsuo

Kunihiko Matsuo was born in 1969 in Mito, Japan. Based in Tokyo, he specializes in interactive technology, audio-visual design and contemporary dance. He is a core member of Nest, a multimedia performance group in Japan. He is also a founder of CMprocess, an artists collective that is working on the border line between technology, performing arts and design, offering an integrated view on digital media system design.

3. Naoki Hamanaka

Naoki Hamanaka is an architect based in Tokyo, Japan. He is a board member of Nest, a multimedia performing art group based in Tokyo. He designs not only theatre sets but also the systems of performances. His aim is not only to design the objects but also design the triggers of activities.

4. Mitsuaki Matsumoto

Mitsuaki Matsumoto is a sound performer and sound and video creator based in Japan. He plays in different contexts; acoustic improvised music (bandoneon), electronic sound accompaniment for dance and also in collaboration with instrumentalists of jazz, with whom he has performed irregular and improvised music for concerts as well as projects.

ON PURUSHARTHA

“Watching Purushartha was like seeing the various impressions and perceptions about the colour white, the Japanese sense of the austere and stark, the Indian ethos of renunciation and the electric existence of sounds that define modernity.” – Chitra Mahesh, Deccan Chronicle, Chennai, February 16th 2008

“There also lies within the entire thing a Buddhist like serenity. This is not so much in an obvious was as in the way the sounds and the movements converge in the most ancient state of being – a sense of the silence within.” - Chitra Mahesh, Deccan Chronicle, Chennai, February 16th 2008

“The overall effect was of a monochrome palette that was severe yet dramatic, threadbare in ostentation yet rich in artistic impulses. The sheen of professionalism ran through every aspect; ‘Purushartha’ was in essence ‘new age’ artistry.” – Rupa Srikanth, The Hindu, Chennai, February 15th 2008

Attakkalari has managed to go beyond the customary projections on the cyclorama.”
– Nirmala Ravindran, India Today, Simply Bangalore, February 2008

It is one of those few combinations of science and art that when depicted on the stage give out soothing effect, something that is sensuous and touched the heart. – Antara Bose,

TOUR DETAILS

1.Travel

1. Artistes ( estimated) : 8-10
2. Attakkalari Performance Team : Technicals/Manager : 2 + 1
3. Japanese Artistes : 3

2.Stage size ( optimum): Available on request.

As per rider /white linoleum mat: 8m x 8 m

3.Technical Rider & Standard Equipment list :( Available on request)

4.Tour costs to be provided for

- Performance fee
- Air travel/Visa/Insurance
- Accomodation
- Per diem for all artistes
- Local transport
- Pre-performance rehearsal space

National and International Tours:
New Delhi, India February 16th 2008
Chennai, India February 13th 2008
Bangalore, India February 8th and 9th 2008
Yokohama, Japan September 22nd and 23rd, 2007
Amsterdam - Julidans Festival, Netherlands July 12th and 13th, 2007
Monaco Dance Forum, Monaco December 10th and 11th, 2006
Dusseldorf International Dance Festival, Germany November 11th and 12th, 2006
Lublin, Poland November 9th, 2006
Warsaw, Poland November 6th, 2006
Munich Festival of Contemporary Dance, Germany November 3rd and 4th, 2006
Bologna Festival of Contemporary Dance, Italy October 27th and 28th, 2006
Frankfurt Book Fair, Germany October 6th and 7th, 2006
Venice Biennale, Italy June 22nd and 23rd, 2006
Biennale Bonn, Germany: World Preview May 14th and 15th, 2006