The Center for Mohiniyattam Presents

Swan lake

Overview

"Recognized as a l a n i m a r k ;n the realm of dance" Recognized as a landmark in the realm of dance, Swan lake in Mohiniyattam explores the idiom of Mohiniyattam, the

classical dance form of Kerala in Southern India, via the completely different genre of Western Classical music and high-

lights the natural affinity that Western ballet and Mohiniyattam share, in terms of content, technique, and spirit.

The haunting music of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, which

Vijayalakshmi chanced upon during a performance-tour

of the former USSR, made an indelible impression that

eventually culminated into one of her most challenging

and fulfilling choreographies to date. The urge to corn-

bine two great classical traditions in a seamless Row - merging the alluring beauty of Mohiniyattam with the

elevating music of Tchaikovsky finally came to fruition

with the premier of Swan Lake in Mohiniytam.

"opened to rave reviews" The production opened to rave reviews and has since

been presented over 40 times at major venues across

lndia and internationally. The production came full

circle when Vijayalakshmi had the rare honor of pre-

senting Swan Lake in Mohiniyattam a t the prestigious

Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and at the Conservatory

theatre in St. Petersburg, where Tchaikovsky studied

music.

More recently, the production was presented at the Shared Experience Festival in South Africa. In March 201 3, Swan

Lake in Mohiniyattam will be presented in multiple cities during the Festival of lndia i n Germany, sponsored by the

Government of India.

centreformohiniyattum@gmail.com I www. vijayalakshmi.net

Reviews

Many faces of innovation ... So effortlessly did the Mohiniyat-

tam movements match Tchaikovsky's score, dance and music 1

looking made for each other, making the viewer forget this was

a cross-cultural effort. Resulting from the long nursed obses- A - -

sion of Vijayalakshmi, the choreography kept movement faith-

ful to the Mohiniyattam body Ianguage while making it look in-

evitably part of the music. Vijayalakshmi playing Odette also

made a researched selection of relevant passages from the

music... Totally unhampered by the a-rhythmic music, the

rapturous dancing seemed to emanate from dancers l ibera tg

from the tala-bound conventional measurement of time, The pristine white Mohiniyattam costume, the delicate el-

evations and dips with graceful andolika to rso iWy seemed tailor-made for the swan." A discerning foreigner

summed up: "Swan Lake ballet is a clichk. But this! It i s as if Tchaikovsky had composed for Mohiniattam!

- The Hindu The audience was amazed when instead of Swan-girls in usual

ballet skirts, barefooted beauties in Indian sarces with jasmine

flowers i n black hair floated on the stage. Their movements

were magnificent. They told a love story, taken with delight by

the spectators. As for the contents on the performance, the

ardour on the stage was stronger, the colours were brighter

and the artistes more passionate. The sophisticated audience

in Moscow received it with ovation. It turns out t o be so

L pleasant t o destroy the steadiest stereotypes.

i - Russian Press

Rarely has one had the feeling of music and dance being perfectly matched as in the recent endeavour of Swan

Lake i n Mohini Attam based on Tchaikovsky's original music by the Centre for Mohini Attam, under the leadership

of dancer Bharati Shivaji and her discipteldaughter Vijayalakshmi .... This task o f retaining the best o f the music

without giving a feel of disjointed bits put together could only have been achieved by one who had absorbed every

mood in the music by listening to H constantly. Here it was

Vijayalakshmi whose obsessive desire to do Swan Lake in

Mohini Attam after having listened to the music i n Russia and

seen ballet performances was a factor which came to the aid

of the production and in a sense became Its main motivating

force. The fact that many Westerners who are familiar with

the work, while watching forgot the feeling of this being a

cross-cultural work, says a lot for haw dance and music CI interacted. www.sruti.com L rn Ey

- -. Y - - Leela Venkataraman, Dance Critic

FOP additional information: centreformohiniyattam@gmail.com

www. vijayalakshmi.net