Choreographer: Rathimalar Govindarajoo

Dancers: Rathi, Divya Nair, Geethika, Tan Mei Mei, Talyssa, Sivagamavalli, Nalina Nair, Jyotsnaa.

Music Composer: Edwin Anand 

Lighting & Set: Sivarajah Natarajan

 

 

 

Panjara examine myths—the archetypes of mythology and how their avatars perpetuate these in our contemporary psyches through various transfigurations.Panjara takes its cue from the present scenario, in which a majority of women are disenfranchised and suppressed. How far can women compromise what is due to their rights as human beings when they are denied the full range of their dynamism in this fast changing world?

 

 

 

Choreographer's notes:

 

During work in progress: thoughts, ideas and where it derived from...

 

Notes:

 

This is my choreography here's what I'm playing with: Found this on the web... and hoping to make some sense out of it -- and figuring out how would one interpret this in a dance?

 

"Suffrage has not been a stepping stone to full equality for women. One problem was that once suffrage was achieved, the common ground among women fighting for it was lost..."  (AMBIGA BERSIH vs LADY GAGA) Good or bad?

 

The box/cube represents : society, rules, culture - the suppression of women (especially Asian women)

 

Dance flow theme : TIMELINE - Evolution of women (20 minutes)

movement 1 - Traditional

movement 2 -- Rebellious/ Change

movement 3 -- Change / fight for freedom... equality

movement 4 - Strength/Weakness? FINALE End - Male domination? (a male musician will be constantly on stage moving from one lighting spot to the other - music is being composed by a local rising star, young artist Edwin Anand Ananthan - I am working closely with Edwin on the music. (We are trying to incorporate traditional and modern music. It is crucial to develop a local signature of Dance and Music for this project!)

 

Title: Panjara -- in sanskrit means 'cage'.

 

Synopsis: Throughout all these myths, Women are identified with both creation and protection. She is described in terms of fertility and reproduction; by creating mankind from her own epidermis, and subsequently sustaining them through Earth's bounty, she is the First, and pre-emanate Mother - Mother's for peace, Mother's for nature! As the Female principal; the Goddess who is life-giving, life sustaining, and life-producing.

 

However, in the current world, are Asian women seen as sexual accessories to the world while suppressing their own existence? The women of the future are willing to hock their identities while toiling to build new lives but are they being begrudged the right to take simple pleasure in their own identities? Are women biologically inferior to men? Why do women accept their inferior position in society? Is it because it is part of their culture? Can these women succeed in the fight for liberation to shape and change the cultures to which they belong? Is it something in a culture that oppresses women?

 

"I will tell you why," she said to him."You are male and I am female."You are of sky and I am of earth."You are constant in your brightness, but I must change with the seasons."You move constantly at the edge of heaven, while I must be fixed in one place..."Remember, as different as we are, you and I, we are of one spirit. As dissimilar as we are, you and I, we are of equal worth...Unlike each other as you and I are, there can be no harmony in the universe as long as there is no harmony between us."

 

- (Zolbrod 1984: 275)*Zolbrod, Paul G, 1984. Dine bahane'. University of New Mexico Press.

 

 

Questions & answers: 

 

Q 1 : When did you become aware that you are not just a dancer but also want to choreograph?

 

From a very young age, I observed Master Ramli and Guna, arrange and choreograph pieces for Sutra. Be it Indian Classical or Contemporary dance pieces, they created work that were beautiful for the audience to appreciate and become something so special for both the choreographer and the audience to take with them.  It is a gift and a piece to the creator (the choreographer), is said to be their creation, their ‘baby’! It is a piece of their soul…  It is true, to choreograph a piece, takes a lot of nurturing over time and as the journey proceeds, the ideas and the concept develops along, in order to get it stronger and clearer. That alone, is a huge challenge for me and I am very curious to know whether I am able to create my own ‘baby’. Metaphorically, I want to know how my ‘baby’ would look like.  It is a search of individual strength, beauty and quality of movement. To look for an inspiration that leads to a path that is seems like an inner self discovery. They are as different as the people with whom I begin this journey. "A performance is a miracle", master keeps reminding us.  A performance that moves the audience and that remains in their thoughts on account of its uniqueness, is my aim.  Choreography to me is a form of creativity, a form of yoga because it is to express the intangibles ideas that are running through my body.  Anything that rises through creativity inspires me.  My dream is to stage a  performance by presenting an inspiration, a collaboration of amalgamated music and lights, that to me is very orgasmic! Words cannot express my joy of being part of a team creating this with my direction.

 

Q 2 : How do you think dance empower women ?

 

Dance to me represents what it means to be liberated, confident, and in good health; all of these are important for the women to have, to liberate of a feminine power. Dance was known for its rituals - as I am a season performer from a very young age dancing before the gods in temple rituals, it is an important element and it brings a sense of a spiritual offering of the self or "melepaskan angin…" (to decompress) as it is described in ancient Malay traditions. Dance was originally seen as an ideal medium for the expression in healing and restoring the body, the heart, the spirit, the communities and the nature. If a woman shuts down emotionally, dance allows that to come out.  What is more empowering than inner peace and liberation?!   

 

 

Q 3 : How do the Arts, specifically Dance, different to Sports, help in nation building?

 

The Arts provides the opportunities to help build a nation by developing communities and restoring oneness. The Arts bridges across cultures and ethnics, bringing together cross cultural dialogue, understanding, unity, tolerance and peaceful-coexistence. Sports is competitive, as one team competes against another, to be better than the other.  It is a competition, whereas the arts unites, it is about appreciation and sharing. Although, both Sports and Arts cannot reverse poverty or prevent crime, solve unemployment, stop corruption and uplift human rights.  It is a type of medium to voice our opinions and create awareness. If we are to build a better future for all, we must not be afraid to engage in some very difficult self-reflection and evaluation. However, personally I believe Sports and the Arts can both merge to create that balance. They say 'Dance is "not a sport" but rather just a form of Art'… but some athletes are being sent to ballet classes, to dance all kinds, whether it be modern, jazz, ballet, hip-hop and even pole dancing.  All of them take an extreme amount of control and strength, and athletes have begun to recognize these benefits. Although dancers train equally hard and as long as professional athletes but the football players and other professional athletes that get paid in millions, many professional dancers do not receive even close to a fraction of that amount of money.  There are some countries, where dance is treated as a form of art and a sport.  Dance can be interpreted as a sport or an art depending on the cultural make-up of each country, for example, India.  It just so happens that here, dance is widely known as an art rather than a sport. Yet this does not mean dancers are not athletes.

 

 

 

Q 4 : How has your experience been working with Sutra dancers in Panjara.

 

These dancers are like my sisters. We have grown dancing together for years, and they are my closest friends.  However, creating Panjara with them was incredibly challenging.  Many would think it would have been easier, but it was not. I know these dancers so well that I challenged myself to push them to their extremes and make them dance outside of their comfort zones.  To break open their inhibitions and to dance in ways they have never before.  It was both a challenge for them and myself.  Moreover, we all have a similar dance background in dance training, so it was a collective effort we have all put together as a team to create something 'new' for Panjara.  As a choreographer and dancer, it is a priceless experience for one to explore choreography on other dancers because it is also an observation of oneself in others.