Dance can sometimes be powerful than politics: Dani Pannullo

International choreographer Dani Pannullo, credited for bringing various dance forms to Spanish stage, believes in a "communion" rather than fusion of different styles and feels that dance can sometimes be more powerful than politics.
For Pannullo, who has experimented with various dance forms across the globe, traditions are integral to modernity.
The dancers of Madrid-based Danni Pannullo Dance Theatre Company performed his dance project titled 'Soul Pait' here last night.
The theme of the show was based on the traditional Indian martial arts form 'Kalaripayattu', practiced mainly in Kerala.
"When I visited Thiruvananthapuram in 2012, I was in search for inspiration for my new work. During my stay in the city, I was so awestruck by the movements displayed in 'Kalaripayattu' that I decided to put it forward in a language that marries contemporary with traditional in my dance project, 'Soul Pait'," Pannullo told PTI after the performance which was organised by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), Ministry of External Affairs.

Pannullo said he had spent over a month in Kerala and visited a number of Kalaripayattu schools to spot talent for his show.

"The performance by three Kalaripayattu fighters and three dancers from Spain showed an amalgamation of urban street dancing and Kalaripayattu. The performance also incorporated the famous hand spins and back spins of b-boying along with this," he said.
However, Pannullo prefers to call his production as a "defusion" instead of fusion between the urban contemporary dance and the age-old regional martial form.
"I love to show things in my way and traditional forms in their way and not to change their essence, thereby making a strange communion. Dance can sometimes be more powerful than politics," he quipped in response to a query.

He feels that a number of moves in b-boying (also called as breakdancing) have been incorporated from martial arts.
"We go to the roots of roots...I want to respect both the art forms equally during the performance. Traditions are integral to modernity. Perhaps that is why I chose to experiment with the flamenco, modern Japanese dance form called 'Butoh' that came into existence after World War II and the dance of the whirling dervishes in Egypt," Pannullo said.
He now plans to visit Bulgaria and Peru for dance project. "As a choreographer, I need to know new moves but deep inside I always try to incorporate tradition," he added.