Yatra Dance Company brings together a group of young working professionals to deliver a charming adaptation of The Jungle Book through their common passion for Bharatha Natyam dance. Choreographed by Archana Selvakumar and Gopika Gnanakuamar, the use of costuming, lighting, projections and narrative help weave the story into a rhythmic display of the signature characters in Kipling’s work.
At the start, there is a striking image of a dancer in a sculpturesque pose. As the scene evolves, various animal characters are introduced and fill the stage. The choreographers make an impressive job of incorporating characteristic animal movements into traditional dance movements. The two worlds are woven together as the Peacock-like creature flits across the stage interchanging between staccato hand gestures and long gliding movements with her cleverly designed winged costume. Another character that draws attention, is the elephant, as he shows off his billowing ears with different angles of his body, arms and hand gesticulation in an effective and proud display, making the dancer seem large and dignified in his portrayal of the elephant.
The narrative and text projections, with still, authentic silhouette backdrops of jungle scenes lead the audience through the story, and we see the young Mowgli (Gopika Gnanakuamar) incorporated into the wolf cub family through a playful performance by some very young yet compelling dancers who deliver a well rehearsed piece with complicated rhythmic footwork that brings to our attention the acceptance of the boy cub into the wolf family. The choreographers must be applauded as this piece evolves seamlessly from the young dancers exiting the stage to their adult counterparts entering simultaneously in a stunning transition showing Mowgli and the wolf cubs growing up.
The gem in the show that stands out from the rest of the scenes in its conception and execution is the “Snake Dance”. The dancer portraying Kaa (Parvathy Krishna) draws in the audience with her precise manipulation of her facial dramatisation, footwork, poses, and sharp head accents to create a strong snake-like presence that is both believable and powerful. The choreographers creatively utilise the five skilled dancers in this piece to draw the picture of a physical snake through undulating arms, rolling percussive step patterns and body positions that at one point mimic the rippling movement of a serpent’s ribcage. The choice of music, makeup, lighting and movement for this piece compound together to form one of the most memorable scenes of the night.
As the story unfolds we finally get to the culminating fight scene between Mowgli and Shere Kan. After several brief solo introductions to Shere Kan, cleverly interspersed throughout the performances to build up the anticipation, this scene is a whirlwind of foot patterns beating out the rhythm of the fight. While the piece is well thought out, the final execution leaves a slight sense of dissatisfaction for the resolution of the story. The dancers are skilled in their movements, but there is a lack of expected aggression and connection between the two dancers needed to showcase the ‘fight’ , and a somewhat abrupt ending closes the show. Had the narrative flowed constantly to this point, it may have lent to a more powerful and cohesive conclusion. The elements that did add power to the performance was the same imagery used in the opening scene repeated for the final scene, and the fire projection to emulate the “red flower” Mowgli uses to defeat Shere Kan.
As the narrator mentions at the start, this production was an “arduous task” for a recently formed group of young working professionals to undertake, but was well worth the effort and the outcome is a smoothly delivered dance performance by a group of skilled dancers and choreographers. Their task of appealing to a wider audience is achieved through their use of a familiar story, eastern and western music, rich colours, costuming, textures and complementary lighting. The Yatra Dance Company leave a positive impression of Bharatha Natyam style as embodying rhythm, expression, and melody.
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