Emerging Artist's Performance (Bhasa- The Language)
As a young choreographer trained in both traditional and contemporary Indian dance techniques I find it surprising that I might need anything more than dance as a language to communicate. The British regime in India lasted for about 200 years but the reign and supremacy of the English language and the obsession of the common Indian with it lasts till now. Not having studied in an English medium school was never a worry for me till I reached the point where I needed to start speaking about my dance. For me dance is itself the strongest medium of expression ever, now imagine needing another language to explain my dance to people. I decided to study for an MA in dance but could not get admission to the only course in the country because I could not probably do well enough in the written test. I was clearly not competent enough to study dance for English. What happens when one language is needed to explain and justify another! what validation do my body and the way it moves need from those for whom my dance is not enough, Bhasa( Sanskrit for Language) is a personal exploration of the ignominy of those who failed because they could not explain their gift, talent, art in English, a foreign language in a country, where there are 22 listed local languages. Through a series of incidents on stage I would want to explore through dance the failure to communicate it.
