INTERFACE: International Festival of Alternative and Contemporary Expression
Wednesday, August 14, 2002: Birla Sabhagahar, Calcutta, India

Karna and Kunti Dance Theatre piece with Odissi, Kathakali, theatre and classical music Calcutta, India

“Srishti Dance Company led by Sreyashi Dey presented the World-premiere of a unique creation. They traveled all the way from the USA to explore our very own “Karna Kunti Samvad” in a new idiom and stylistic. Tradition and modernity juxtaposed in the rendering of the Kathakali expressions by PKannan and the Odissi ones by Sreyashi Dey with English dialogues by American actors Brynell Jameson and Patrick Jordan from the Dept. of Theatre, University of Pittsburgh. Sreyashi’s multi-ethnic casting and multi-cultural collaboration really paid tribute to the LINK THE ARTS concept of the Festival.” The Asian Age, Calcutta

“Karna and Kunti” was a collaborative performance piece that fused Odissi and Kathakali dance and theatre styles, English theatre and Hindustani classical music. By incorporating techniques from these diverse art forms, it captured the essence of the poignant story of the encounter between Karna and Kunti, in an episode from the epic Mahabharata. The performance piece was based on an English translation of Tagore’s original Bengali verse, and retained the main theme from Tagore’s original, specifically, the issues of an abandoned child discovering his birth mother.

Sreyashi chose to depart from the traditional classical dance format, by using substantial theatrical elements. The most obvious innovations were the use of English dialogues by the actors, and the use of the theatrical style of Kathakali for the character of Karna. This piece seamlessly blended dance, theatre and music: the intricate and elaborate hand gesture language of Kathakali met the subtle, yet powerful facial gestures of Odissi (for the character of Kunti). Actors Bryn Jameson and Patrick Jordan spoke the dialogues between the two characters as well as incorporated substantial movements to provide an interesting contrast in the movement styles of classical Indian dance and theatre. The music highlighted/enhanced the moods and dramatic moments in the dialogue.

The choreography, while remaining rooted in Indian classical dance styles, was minimalist yet suggestive. In addition to the vocabulary of Odissi, Sreyashi used excerpts of an Odissi Pallavi to mirror Kunti’s anguished state of mind at certain points. Other obvious departures form tradition included the style of costuming and movements to spoken English words. Since this work is designed to span across continents and cultures, the use of English narrative, rather than the original Bengali was imperative to make it accessible to larger audiences. Multi-ethnic casting provided a strong bridge across cultures.