Confluence of cultures

Bharatanatyam danseuse Nirmala Seshadri performed solo at a concert by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra

BHARATANATYAM DANCER Nirmala Seshadri is back from Singapore where she performed solo to the music of a live 70-member Singapore Chinese Orchestra. This experimental piece was for the orchestra's concert, Nanyang Musical Voyage, and was staged at the Singapore Conference Hall.

Born in Singapore and a homegrown talent, Nirmala began her training in classical Indian dance in Singapore, where she also learnt music, both Indian and Western. She did her schooling in Singapore, at the Singapore Chinese Girls' School. Now based in Chennai, Nirmala is actively involved in the arts scene in Singapore, through performances and arts education programmes. She also serves on the National Arts Council's Arts Resource Panel. In August this year, Nirmala was invited to present her choreography, "The Eternal Human Aspiration", at the Esplanade Theatre in Singapore. This was the adaptation of the Mandarin poem, "Aspiration" by Singaporean poet Dan Ying, into dance.

Of the orchestral collaboration Nirmala says:

"My first exposure to the SCO was the opening of the Singapore Arts Festival this year. The experience changed my perception of orchestras, of Chinese music and of myself as an artiste in a multi-cultural setting. As I listened to them play, I felt myself relating to their music and wanting to get up and dance. Of course, Tan Swie Hian's poetry and paintings played a great role in creating deeper connections".

So it was not difficult to say `yes' when Maestro Tsung Yeh, managing director, SCO, who also conducted the Nanyang Musical Voyage, invited her to collaborate with the orchestra. Nirmala divided the piece into four segments: `Comfort', `Call of the Flute', `Rhythm' and `The Celestial Web' (based on Swie Hian's poem). She choreographed these pieces using her dance form as a base. It was Maestro Tsung Yeh's idea to start with a piece from the traditional repertoire of Bharatanatyam to establish the style. So the first segment `Comfort' was based on the `Thillana', which is usually the concluding piece in traditional dance recitals. Nirmala used it as a beginning, as she tried to gradually find connections through music, rhythm, poetry and painting.

In the second piece, `The Ganges Nocturne' by Hong Kong composer Tan Bao Shuo, Nirmala brought out the essence of two ashtapadis, using the flute as a connection. In the third segment, the concept of rhythm was used to move closer. Here Nirmala performed the traditional tisra alarippu to Chinese percussion as well as tabla.

In the final segment, "The Celestial Web', everything came to a climax - with Swie Hian's poetry and painting providing stronger points of connection along with soul stirring music by Singaporean composer Low Wai Lun. A creative video by Chetan Shah heightened the emotional segment.

Note: The write-up was published in The Hindu, 18th Nov 2003