Shreyasi Singh New Delhi

TURN the corner from Vikas Marg, a chaotic road stuffed with shrieking cars and you will find yourself in Bharati Artists Colony in east Delhi. The Bhoomika Creative Dance Studio is located here in a warm red-brick building.

Bhoomika’s troupe of ten dancers is rehearsing a performance called Rangavali. An eightminute production, Rangavali brings alive the characteristics of each colour of the Indian Flag.

There are three female dancers outfitted in saffron, green and white. A male dancer in white and blue represents the ‘charkha’. Their moves are languid, graceful and set beautifully to a musical composition that instils deep pride in the national flag.

Practice sessions like these are held every day at the studio but there is an added zing these days. Bhoomika recently launched a performance circuit for schools in the national capital region (NCR). On offer are live stage performances for students during school hours on campus.

Bhoomika has prepared a unique repertoire of dance-theatre specially designed for children and young adults. The troupe hopes the performance circuit will stimulate young minds, dulled with computer games and silly reality shows.

“Our main aim with this performance circuit is to inspire a child’s imagination. Connection with live performances is much deeper. Children can engage with the performers. That always leaves a deeper imprint, a more cherished memory. It helps bring art closer to children. I grew up watching live shows. But where are such performances now? How many children have access to them,” asks Deepti Gupta, programme coordinator at Bhoomika. She is a Kathak exponent, teacher, choreographer and trained archivist.

Schools can choose from a repertoire of six productions specifically conceived for children. Each production combines dance with theatre, music, visual art and design. There are a wide range of themes like nationalism, colour, sports, fables and the environment.

Rangavali is one of the productions on offer. There is also Panchatantra Ka Sher, a 28- minute ballet which tells the story of a lion that gets outwitted by a clever rabbit. A 35-minute performance titled Nightingale interprets select poems of Sarojini Naidu. There is also a 14-
minute production tilted Flying Cranes and a 10- minute show called Patang on the joyous game of kite flying. Then there is a 10-minute abstract dance sequence which explores different kinds of relationships between dancing bodies.

These performances will be followed by interactive sessions and dance workshops to expose children to the basics of dance theatre, rhythm development, storytelling, dancing with props and creating new moves to music. The fees depend on the productions chosen and the type of workshop a school wants to conduct.

“We have included elements to make our dances more attractive by using a lot of props, masks and exaggerated make up. The circuit also supports us to build a future audience for contemporary dance. We hope some of these students will become dancers or connoisseurs of dance,” said Kashyap.

Bhoomika says such productions are powerful tools for educating children. Bharat Sharma, the troupe’s director, explains that the partnership between education and dance has always been one of the founding principles of Bhoomika.

“Our founder Narendra Sharma was committed to performing for and with young audiences. He founded the troupe in 1972 with a vision to strengthen dance education in our schools. In fact, he is responsible for introducing dance as a subject in Delhi schools. This performance circuit for schools is not new for us. We have worked with schools and the Children’s Film Society before. But, there was a gap. We are bridging that now. We feel the need to go back and do more,” he says.

Bhoomika has extensively toured in India and abroad. It has taken part in major dance festivals in France, Italy, Japan, Yugoslavia and several other countries. The troupe has also performed at the prestigious International Modern Dance Festival in Germany.

Bhoomika has already reached out to several schools in the NCR through a blitz of emails and interactions with principals. The response has been encouraging with leading schools like Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and Mother Teresa Convent showing keen interest. They are also
getting queries from schools outside Delhi.

“We really want to strike a partnership with schools. We want their complete involvement. Children today, like adults, are mind-oriented; they are living in their mind. We want them to imbibe the physicality of dance, the visual aspect of dance,” says Tripura Kashyap, also a programme coordinator and a dance educator, movement therapist and choreographer.

The performance circuit will help children understand dance beyond mass, popular interpretations, hopes Gupta.

“We want to put an end to the perception that there is either a Shiamak Davar style of dance or a traditional classical form like Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Odissi. The traditional forms can sometimes alienate a child because they require an understanding of the form before they can really be enjoyed. We want to showcase the inbetween, to find the middle ground. Contemporary dance is more accessible. We want them to see different shapes that contemporary dance can create and also to create their own shapes,” she explains.

Tripura Kashyap (91.9958569192), Deepti Gupta (91.9810295778).
Email them at bhoomikadance@gmail.com

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