Fusing varying dance culture, French kathak dancer adds creativity to convention

Isabelle Anna’s Wednesday night performance left the audience spellbound.

ISLAMABAD:

The novelty of a French kathak dancer sparked the curiosity of many Islamabadis and drew a full house at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts on Wednesday. Sprawled on the stairs, the brimming audience didn’t anticipate the exhilarating talent of Isabelle Anna that would redefine kathak for them.

Anna is the founder of Kaleidans’Scop, a dance company, and has been learning dance and other art forms since the age of five. The Indo-French government scholar joined Kathak Kendra, a premier kathak dance institution in New Delhi, and trained under Pandit Jai Kishan Maharaj. In 1998, she was initiated to kathak dance by Sharmila Sharma, disciple of the legendary Indian kathak dance exponent, Pandit Birju Maharaj.

Anna’s classical training, precision and grace was showcased in the first section of the performance which adhered to the convention of traditional kathak and symbolist storytelling. However the second part, which relied heavily on Anna’s own interpretation of kathak, and mixed various other dances from Spain, Turkey and Europe, blew the audience away.

“I think Anna’s performance touched and spoke to the audience because she understands that we are all different, but builds a link by embracing and bringing together those differences to make something new that speaks a common language,” said Valeria Khan of Acid Survivors Foundation.

The dancer’s use of Spanish and European music further gave power and diversity to her performance, as her footwork, pronounced by ghungroos worked sometimes with the music, and at times against it for heightened effect.

In addition, Anna has the perfect balance of sound on her feet — she manages to alternate her feet according to the movement to generate a flat thud while maintaining buoyancy. Also the dancer’s footwork was easily audible amidst the jangling of ghungroos and the music, a feat that only comes with years of practice.

Dressed in a simple yet elegant red Turkish gown, Anna’s third last performance stunned audience members as she delivered immaculate spins that blended traditional kathak style with Turkish dance.

As the fabric of her costume wheeled into motion, audience members applauded loudly and one audience member whispered, “Its like her body is unattached to her head, its amazing.”

Though Anna exercised and showed her control over movement, she displayed abandonment and passion during her Bolera (Latin music) inspired number. “Bolera isn’t about control but about feeling the music and responding to it to the point of losing your mind,” Anna told The Express Tribune after the show.

Clad in a black and red subdued Flamenco dress, the dancer showed her diversity and ingenuity for dance as she utilised the slow-building crescendo to communicate her slow descent into spiritual bliss or maddening ablution.

The last number, a kind of ode to France and welcome to Pakistan, was performed on the audience’s insistence. With a rose tucked by her shoulder, Anna showcased the inherent talent in her face as she displayed various emotions.

The performance cued to French music was jovial, flirtatious, coy and yet bold. As Anna threw her rose in to the audience at the end, an audience member commented, “Even though there wasn’t much movement in this one but her facial expressions and gestures were mesmerising.”

Later after the performance, humbled and overwhelmed by the audience’s response, Anna said that her aim was not only to perform for the audience but to have an exchange of feelings and emotions that art can inspire that, she felt, had taken place to her delight.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2012.