Animation lends a hand to classical dance-drama

The mythological tale of Nal Damyanti from the epic Mahabharata has been reinterpreted in a dance-drama form by eminent dancer Ranjana Gauhar, who incorporates computer graphic animation in the new production.
"For the new production, which depicts the story of Nal and Damyanti, I have utilised a backdrop set that has animation and multimedia effect to create characters that talk and interact with classical Odissi and Chau dancers. It is just like a movie," says Gauhar.
The acclaimed dancer incorporates Odissi with Chau, a martial dance art form to narrate a story and engage the audience in a new way.

"We aim to connect art with classical and contemporary dance styles with new technologies. The computer generated environment is one of its kind. Animation is part of the story and is used to enhance the storytelling. It is a unique experiment and to my knowledge nobody in India had integrated this kind of technology in such a manner," says Gauhar.
The animated film has been done by a young filmmaker and his team says Gauhar who has led the overall direction.
Contemporary dance is not shying away from incorporating elements that aim to sustain audience interest and bring in new patrons, says the dancer who is involved in creating awareness through presenting lecture demonstrations in rural and semi rural regions of the country.

"Contemporary flavours should be made use of. There was a time when there was no concept of lighting and dancers used to perform in the presence of a wicker lamp. If you see Kathakali and other dance performances it used to be conducted over a period of days often with a single ceremonial lamp lit during the night to provide light," says Gauhar.

The age-old tale of Nal-Damyanti, narrates the story of
noble king Nal who despite his righteous beliefs succumbed to temptations of playing dice and lost his entire kingdom and more so loses himself.
Gauhar chose the story of the couple who overcome various obstacles to live together to "reach out to people who live in today's world of temptation."

"The story is relevant even in today's age where there are many temptations. It gently nudges people to adopt the good path of life," says Gauhar.
While both Odissi and Chau harmonises masculine and feminine energies, Gauhar says the postural dance form of Odissi is primarily feminine with masculine undertones while the martial art form of Chau channelises masculinity with feminine undertones.
"The two dance forms have their origin in Orissa and they complement each other. The challenge for me was to combine modern technology with the classical art form. Let us see how this experiment goes and how convincing it is for the audiences. Depending on its success we will plan out other productions," says Gauhar.