Mohiniyattam dancer Vijayalakshmi dips into poetry for 'Rain'

Danseuse Vijayalakshmi, known for her numerous interpretations of Mohiniyattam is back with a new choreography that reflects the mood of the monsoon season.
The Delhi-based dancer says the idea behind her new work is to reconnect the different faculties of art to create a synergised output based on 'Rain', the critically acclaimed poetry anthology by Sudeep Sen.
"Synthesis of poetry with music and Mohiniyattam is always a new experience especially when poems by Sudeep Sen in many ways reflect the way I think," Vijayalakshami told PTI before her performance.
Unlike her previous choreographic productions, 'Rain' is both pan-Indian and global in approach with vast variety of music tied together by American musician Mac Quayle.

"The musical range of this production includes Dhrupad, Carnatic, Rabindra sangeet with a tinge of world music," she said.
Since the poems are in English the dansuese hopes the work would reach out and find resonance with wider non-Indian audience too.

Vijaylakshmi, daughter of veteran dancer Bharti Shivaji who is credited with reconstructing the dance form, says she did not face any major challenges while creating the work and everything fell in place naturally for her.
"I enjoyed choreographing this particular work as I love poetry. With rain being a universal theme, it was interesting to transform an intellectual exercise into a visually appealing act," she said.

For her 'Rain' sequence, Vijayalakshami is accompanied by three dancers.
Previously, she has choreographed and performed critically acclaimed acts Swan Lake and Unniarcha at various prestigious venues the world over.
The artiste has carved a niche by constantly blurring the boundaries and exploring new horizons within Mohiniyattam, the classical dance form of Kerala.
With her aim to rejuvenate this dance form, the dancer says she looks forward to performing this work to express the metaphor of rain with fluidity of Mohiniyattam.