The Other Festival - 2002   Music. Dance. Drama. Art. You.  Dec 1- 7, 2002   Chinmaya Heritage Centre   # 2, 13th Avenue   Harrington Road, Chennai 600034

On THE OTHER FESTIVAL 2002 

Today, the annual festival has on its roster sponsors such as The Park Hotels, AirTel and HSBC… providing a stage for contemporary arts and exposing audiences … an alternative to the traditional kutcheri and classical dance that Chennai is known for …the goal is to create a community that believe this festival 

Into its fifth consequtive year, THE OTHER FESTIVAL has gradually acquired an enhanced presence...the sheer variety of fare this year was astounding, coming as it did from different countries 

Anita’s and Ranvir’s personal involvement in the showcasing of the artistes gives a certain intimacy to The Other Festival which sets it apart…If it succeeds so well, it’s in creating this sense of community…the open hand symbol of The Other Festival is instinct with many possibilities for experiment and change. It celebrates the exciting times in which we live. 

USHA GANGULI (Kolkata), “Antar Yatra”(Solo Theatre – Hindi) Dec.1,2002 

What impresses you about Ganguli is her deep feminism which does not shut out the larger humanist persepctive 

Usha’s majestic presence, intense theatrical voice and electric movements ranging from the walk to dance, enhanced by minimal sets and subtle light effects held the aduience for more than an hour…young aspiring theatre actors can learn a lot from her mastery 

Usha Ganguli’s solo theatre was as much autobiography as small vignettes of drama 

STEM DANCE THEATRE(Bangalore), "MOH - IN THE REALM OF LOVE", Contemporary Dance – Group, Dec.2, 2002 

Madhu and her dancers somersaulted, pirouetted and twirled, …combined glimpses of Kathak, aerobics and everything In the Realm of Love to tell stories of “Moh”  

What made this 25 minute presentation so eye-catching was the amalgam of Kathak and contemporary dance …while the haunting images and works of Yusuf Arrakal played alongside the various aspects of love, an inherent sense of drama was present as the lissome dancers took centrestage…the effect wasdramatic in parts and almost spiritual in others 

An eclectic combination of inputs from the Persian love poems of Sufi saint Amir Khusrau to a traditional tumri to contemporary feminist poetry, was deployed in the half hour excerpt of ‘Moh- in the Realm of Love.’… The overall effect was one of good taste and finesse 

Guitarist and composer Amit Heri blew the hall away. Playing Indian raga-based songs, he stepped up the voltage with Ravichandra on the flute, Hamesh (drums) and Keith Peters on the base. Electric Music! 

Consummate and vibrant in his style, Amit mixes his Indian influence with Jazz, Blues to create unique sound patterns 

Amit Heri wowed the audience with his racy jazz music with its Carnatic overtones. Especially popular were the latin rhythmic ‘Beyond The Three Words’ and the ‘Peace Song’ based on the Hamsadwani ragam. The last number based on Abhogi was striking for his excellent strumming on the electric guitar. 

ARANGHAM DANCE THEATRE (Chennai, India) & DANCE ALLOY (Pittsburgh, USA), "DUST", Contemporary Dance – Group, Dec.3, 2002 

A collaboration between traditional Bharatanatyam, post modern movement forms and Japanese Butoh, between the spiritual and the earthy- the quartet told the audience a story without saying a word, just leaping, swirling, falling, rolling and thak-a-thi-thomming - Chinmaya Heritage Mission Hall was packed. Nobody moved or spoke 

A very thought-provoking venture…DUST can be interpreted in many ways...Like abstract art, dance in its myriad forms can be just rhythms – of feet and body…It is a process of learning and letting the spaces in the mind and outside be filled with ideas  

The work moves between meditative moments and frenzied invasive arm thrusts and floor threshing. Bharatanatyam movement and rhythm blends happily with the any-which-way moves of Western contemporary dance…Alice Shield's electronic music provides the uniting thread. 

The beautiful Chinmaya Auditorium was filled to capacity with dance enthusiasts. And they were not disappointed. The intense imagery wrapped itself around the audience encasing them in their journey through the sometimes frenzied and expansive motions… Dressed in a poor Tibetian’s garb, the dancers performed movements that seemed mostly contemporary and American post modern, but every now and again broke into an interlude of Bharatanatyam ‘adavus,’ so regularly that it felt like a refrain…The wide stances, the expansive movements of the limbs added a lot of effervescence to the production, and the combined energies on stage remained on a high.   

B O SHAILESH,  KRISTIN CUNLIFFE & ANURADHA ANANTH (Chennai) INSTALLATION ART & POETRY READING Dec.3, 2002 

Their theme: behind every successful man is a Mrs with a hilarious soliloquy… Their half hour performance was the perfect offset to the high energy dance that preceded it.  

A feel of theatre with lighting and décor on stage; the venture was pleasant without it being too dramatic 

December 4, 2002 - NRITARUTYA(Bangalore), "AND…", Contemporary Dance – Group 

The entirely unknown Nritarutya's performance was a revelation…a group of intelligent dancers…visually riveting formations made a dramatic start to the performance 

The enthusiastic team of Nritarutya comprised seven dancers…They charmed the audience with their graceful and precise movements, body control, and split-second timing. There was poetic beauty in their limbs and their stylish technique was captivating. The choreography was marvellous, especially in ‘Five Minutes with My Inner Self’ and ‘Conversation.’… The wide-ranging concepts were proof of discerning and seeking minds 

December 4, 2002 - ADITI MANGALDAS & The Drishtikon Dance Foundation (New Delhi), "RHYTHM & SOUND" and “ LAMENT”, Contemporary Dance - Group & Solo 
A most professional performance…Kathak's rhythmic virtuosity in a new garb…Aditi's choreography has matured…evolved into a more evocative body language 

Mangaldas is well-known. Her mastery of the Kathak idiom and the excellence of her troupe served to underline that she has “attempted to reach new forms, create new spaces and evolve a new vocabulary. 

Technical virtuosity remains the governing principle in Mangaldas’ style. Rhythmic dexterity afforded sound exploration at different levels creating a reverberating thirty-five minute journey of discovery. 

December 5, 2002 - KAEJA d' DANCE, "lifeDUETS", Contemporary Dance -Duet & Group 

In her fluid grace and sensuality Karen Kaeja is a foil to the strong masculinity of Allen Kaeja 

The Canadian dancing couple Karen and Allen Kaeja, gave Chennai their first experience of contact dancing at The Other Festival, Chennai. Theirs is a very physical style filled with graceful, fluid movements, also marked by a sense of intimacy and tenderness brought on by the almost continuous body contact… The most exciting part for the local audience was ‘Earth Scent,’ a collaboration with local artists, in a style based on that of the Kaejas,’ nevertheless including some of the traditional stances and steps of Bharatanatyam… The adaptability of these dancers to a changed milieu and to a different set of rules was 3remarkable. 

SHORT FILMS BY ALLEN & KAREN KAEJA: 

The three short films directed by Allen Kaeja and Mark Adam were masterpieces of how movement should be used for the camera - each totally different from the rest 

This multi-faceted dancing couple have ventured into the production of short dance films. The experiences of Kaeja’s Polish family in World War II led him to produce the films on this very painful subject; the three of them shown that day ‘Sarah,’ ‘Zummel’ and ‘1939’ were very personal and deeply disturbing even to a bystander…That people are prepared to share their innermost agonies is a humbling thought, and the ability to never lose faith in mankind is what sustains the human spirit. 

Jaimini Pathak’s solo depiction reminded us of lost values, not with mawkish nostalgia, but with reference to their practical use in our times…Pathak played 22 characters with a command and control that permitted no self indulgence 

Brilliant enactment which in places left the hair standing on end… 

Jaimini Pathak, has turned in a memorable performance…Gandhi and the men around him and the time they lived in are brought to life with amazing versatility and skill by Pathak…The audience could sense brooding above the action, the luminous aura of that time, of love and loyalty, of renunciation and the forgetfulness of self. A moving, deeply evocative  experience  

Words cannot do enough justice to this exemplary performance by one actor taking us back to a more heroic age, while remaining rooted in the language and idiom of our own everyday one …It is not an exaggeration to note that several of the older generation had tears flowing down from their eyes at the end of the performance  

December 7, 2002 - TRIBHANGI DANCE THEATRE (South Africa), "ESSENCE OF RHYTHM", (Articulation The Unspoken), Contemporary Dance (Group)  

Combined Indian dance-inspired crisp geometry with the gyrating, undulating torso, hip and  shoulders of African dancing…spelt the joy of movement  

Tribhangi Dance Theatre’s lively dance presentation, ‘Essence of Rhythm’ consisted of an assortment of international sounds…African Pansula movements, shoulder hip movements, interspersed with traditional Bharatanatyam ‘adavus', lead to an exciting unpredictability…The twenty-minute show reiterated a universal truth about dance in that the only factors that matter are posture, grace and rhythm, whatever be the ethnicity. ‘Rhythm of Essence’ impressed with its earnestness of purpose and execution…  

One of the main attractions of the festival…unassailable serenity and searing intensity characterised her performance, which had elements of enigma and mystery in deeply symbolic movements 

The organisers must have saved the best for the last. The week-long The Other Festival in Chennai concluded with Rina Schenfeld from Israel, otherwise referred to as the ‘First Lady of Israeli Dance.’ Regal in her bearing and as graceful as the swan she gave a new meaning to sophistication… Agile and in control, an outstanding sense of balance…The lighting design and execution was brilliant. This auburn-haired dancer with the most poetic limbs and dainty gait got an incredible ovation. This was however not surprising.