Sources’ researchIndian Per forming Ar ts

Milòn MèlaThe Fair of Sharing

Under the direc t ion of Abani B iswas the on-going theatre projec t cal led Sources’ Research i s ac t ive for the las t 20 years, in Europe and in India. The Sources’ Research per forming ac t iv i t y is focused on Indian tradit ional techniques, the method of work and research comes from the exper ience of the “Theatre of Sources” direc ted by Jerzy Grotowski, in which Abani B iswas had col laborated from 1979 to 1983. One of the main goals of the projec t is to make these ancient t radit ional techniques ac t ive ly func t ioning in wider f ie lds and for the benef i t s of contemporar y ar t is t s .

Today, in India, in the rural and tr ibal zones, there are ar t is t ic communit ies s t i l l ac t ive. For the tradit ional ar t is t s the creat ive express ion represent s a fundamental e lement of their personal l i ves and at the same t ime i t communicates the values and needs of their communit ies . The l i fe of these “cultural reser ves” is constant ly imper i l led. They are forgot ten by the urban societ y, abandoned by the pr ivate and publ ic cultural ins t i tut ions, explo ited and deformed by mass media for a purely commercia l purpose. Sources ’ Research ac t iv i t ies put forward an al ternat ive to the ex is t ing s i tuat ion in the area of specif ic Indian tradit ional per forming ar t s . The method of work br ings together representat ives of dif ferent popular t radit ions of India. Projec t ac t iv i t ies create condit ions and encouragement for the or ig inal and creat ive work of t radit ional prac t i t ioners . At the same t ime an oppor tunit y is g iven to present their ar t in front of a wider publ ic , both in more personal set t ings of work-sess ions as wel l as per formances and parades. This par t of the projec t prov ides par t ic ipat ing ar t is t s with mater ia l resources for them, for their famil ies and communit ies .

The projec t combines workshops, per formances, parades and fes t iva l ac t iv i t ies . Milòn Mèla represent s a unique oppor tunit y to present ancient and at trac t ive Indian per forming ar t s to a large audience.

Milòn Mèla per formances are a unique oppor tunit y to enjoy a s tunning mix of l i ve music, v isual and physical per formance from across India. The per formance is a s tr ing of c lose -knit per formances done in dif ferent dramatic and theatr ica l t radit ions of India by wel l -known masters which is vair ing according to dif ferent p laces, in theatre hal ls or in open areas. These ancient r i tual is t ic forms have a high ar t is t ica l ly value and they are able to involve a large audience, from chi ldren to adult s .

S ince 1990 Sources ’ Research has i t s own work- centre “Theatre House” at Sant iniketan (West Bengal ) , where ever y year, from November to Februar y, res ident ia l work sess ions are taking place. Theatre House ser ves as a p lace of meet ing and creat ive ac t iv i t ies for a large number of t radit ional ar t is t s , local t r ibal populat ions as wel l as wander ing monks of dif ferent re l ig ious current s .

Abani B iswas, direc tor of the Sources’ Research – Milón Méla Projec t current ly l ives and works in West Bengal ( India ) . His involvement in the f ie ld of per forming ar t s dates many years back. In the Six t ies he par t ic ipated in the work of Kalpataru Theatre Company that pursued the model of a Western theatre. In 1973, together with a group of young ar t is t s , he founded the L iv ing Theatre of Calcut ta.

From 1979 to 1983 he par t ic ipated in the mult icultural projec t of Theatre of Sources direc ted by a Pol ish theatre master Jerzy Grotowski. This work has const i tuted for him the most s ignif icant exper ience, both on the personal as wel l as professional leve l. Af ter the conclusion of the Theatre of Sources projec t Abani returned to India and began to develop his work in the f ie ld of tradit ional per formative disc ip l ines . He has trave led ex tensive ly in dif ferent rural zones of Bengal, B ihar, Or issa as wel l as in the South of India. There he met ar t is t s and var ious masters of dif ferent tradit ions , cultures and re l ig ions , and establ ished long- last ing work and human re lat ionships .

Since 1986, together with the essentia l work on research in tradit ional ar t is t ic communit ies , he launched the projec t The Sources’ Research – Milón Méla ( in Bengal i : The Fair of Coming Together) . In 1990 with his own resources Abani has created the work- center Theatre House near Santiniketan (West Bengal ) .

Milón Méla unites ar t ists from East and West , from

dif ferent rel igions and cultures in a harmonious

spir it of col laboration through ar t ist ic pract ices , it

inc ludes 19 ar t ists and masters :

3 Bauls music ians of Bengal

4 masters of Kalar ipayat tu mar t ia l ar t (Kerala )

5 Chhau dancers ( Jarkhand / Bihar)

3 Gotipua dancers (Or issa )

3 actors and music ians

Artist ic director : Abani Biswas

PerformanceCome and be enchanted by the tradit ional music and medieval myst ic songs of the Baul s ingers and music ians of West Bengal. Let yourself be mesmer ised by the acrobat ic dance of the magnif icent masked Chhau dancers and drummers from Purul ia ( B ihar) . Let the adrenal ine f low watching the exci t ing sword f ight s of the Kalar ipayat tu masters from Keral and be capt ivated by the ref ined and harmonious young Got ipua dancers from Orissa – a l l the Milòn Mèla ar t is t s jo in together to prov ide you with an except ional and unforget table evening.

The quick rhy thm of the music of The Bauls of Bengal wants to wake up our energy, the joy of being al ive and preset s . Bauls or ig inate from a communit y of wander ing myst ical s ingers that goes back to the Middle Ages. Inf luenced by Buddhism and Suf ism, even i f they are Hindus, they do not recognize caste div is ions, they profess equal i t y of fa i ths and re l ig ions and retain that Div ini t y has i t s p lace in the Hear t of ever y Man. Per forming ar t s and creat ive techniques have become for the Bauls a way of l i v ing that was or ig inal ly combined with the search for inner knowledge. Nowadays i t is the ar t is t ic aspec t that prevai ls , to the detr iment of personal search. Bauls make their own charac ter is t ic musical ins truments ( s tr ings, percuss ions ) and are true masters of improv isat ion.

The root s of the Gotipua Dance f rom Orissa go back to Indian Middle Ages and are l inked to the ancient t radit ion of Devadasi ( female temple dancers ) . Today dancers are mainly boys between the age of 8 and 15 years dressed in woman’s c lothes, who, us ing a ver y ref ined s t y le, per form precise s teps, as wel l as Mudras (hand gestures ) , eyes and facia l express ions, and c lass ic Yoga postures. The sof t harmony of acrobat ic movements combined with vocal and ins trumental accompaniment ( Pakuaj percuss ions and Harmonium keyboards ) charac ter ize this ver y ref ined c lass ical dance.

Salutat ions and combats of Kalaripayattu ( s t ick s, swords and shie lds ) . I t seems us to watch at the ancient f ight of the Greek heroes ; the use of arms and the quick ac t ions give us moments of suspense in this t radit ional breath-taking combat. Kalar ipayat tu is one of the most ancient mar t ia l ar t s of India and i t is ca l led the Mother of a l l the ar t is t ic d isc ip l ines of Southern India. Throughout the ages, together with the prac t ice of mar t ia l techniques, the Marma: knowledge of the human body and i t s 108 energy and v i ta l centres has been developed. Two young Kalar ipayat tu masters that work with us come from a renowned school in Tr ivandrum. Dur ing the outdoors per formances the F ire Dance is included in the program.

An explosion of energy and movement, daredevil somersault and jumps, Chau is an ancient tribal dance of Purulia (Bihar) , practiced to this days by rural populations while invoking the Hindu divinity Shiva to grant them rain and abundant harvest. The Chhau dancers use beautiful masks (weighing up to 4 kilos) that represent Hindu deities, demons and tribal spirits, and enact stories of the Mahabharattha, Ramayana and Purana, the ancient sacred books of India, to the rhythmical accompaniment of pipe and big drums.

ParadeA truly inspir ing event, Milòn Mèla parade is a joy ful outdoor ce lebrat ion of l i ve per formance in a l l i t s forms, a spec tacular musical and v isual process ion through the s treet s and square of the c i t y, creat ing a colour ful atmosphere of mar vel and exci tement and br inging together the c i t y ’s d iverse communit ies, chi ldren and grown-ups a l ike, for a t rue feast of the senses. Dynamic and f i l led with energy the Parade is led by the l ive acoust ic music of the Baul music ians, fo l lowed by the masked Chhau with their acrobat ic dances and their rhy thmic drums, by the Kalar ipayat tu mar t ia l ar t s masters with their sword combats combined with whir l ing f i res and by the ref ined and harmonious Got ipua dancers . I t i s punc tuated by addit ional miniper formances by each group of ar t is t s , who wil l surpr ise and amaze you with the sk i l ful d isp lay of their ar t and ta lent. People can fo l low the parade al l the way through from the s tar t , catch i t and jo in in at any point on the route, or jus t watch i t as a bystander- any of these. Ideal ly, the Parade should s tar t at sunset and evolve into the night i l luminated by the l ight s of the F ire Dance.

Technical requirementsShow time. 1h 15 minutes without inter val.No any technical equipment is requested for the Parade. The establ ished route has to be c losed to traf f ic for the durat ion of the Parade. A c learance to exhib it f i reworks should be obtained. I t is essent ia l that the ar t is t ic d irec tor v is i t s the locat ions before the parade.

Technical requirementsShow time. 1h 15 minutes without inter val. Space dimensions . 8x7 meters . For outdoor per formances a wooden plat form is needed. For indoor per formances ( theatre s tage or a large hal l ) a poss ib i l i t y of a complete blackout is required.Lights . 20 adjustable revolv ing l ight s, 5 f loor- l ight s, 4 spot s / ye l low and orange.Sound. 6 lavaliere radio -microphones, 4 direc t ional microphones with perches. I f the hall has a good acoustics it is preferable to use natural sound without any amplif icat ion. I t is impor tant that the ar t is t ic direc tor v is it s the location before the per formance.

Milón Méla per forming ac t iv i t y has par t ic ipated in many theatre

fes t iva ls in I ta ly, Spain, Swit zer land, Poland and Austr ia. I t

has been per forming in c i t y squares and s treet s, open arenas

and theatres . I t has conduc ted workshops in univers i t ies

and ins t i tutes, with theatre groups, cultural associat ions,

psychotherapis t s and pedagogues. Dur ing years of ac t iv i t y, a

valuable col laborat ion has been establ ished with the fo l lowing

ins t i tut ions :

• Centro Teatro Ateneo, Univers i t y of Rome “La Sapienza”,

prof. Ferruccio Marot t i .

• Centre for Study of Jerzy Grotowski ’s Work and for Cultural

and Theatr ica l Research, Wroclaw, Poland, Stefa Gardecka.

• Wolkerkundemuseum der Univers i tat Zur ich, Dr.Andreas I s ler.

• Univers i t y of Kent, Canterbur y. Drama Dept. Prof. Paul A l len.

This brochure was rea l ized by :A ssoc iaz ione O f f i c ina Zone Umane ONLUSLargo Mor i cone, 1 - 02033 Monte leone Sab ino ( R I ) - I TALY +39.0765885027 in fo @ ozu. i tw w w.ozu . i t

The co l laborat ion bet ween Mi lòn Mèla and Ozu , which i s based on the common in t re s t in t rad i t iona l and contempora r y a r t s , cont inues s ince summer 2007, w i th the o rgan iza t ion o f in tens i ve work shops fo r s tudent s f rom “La Sap ienza” Un i ve r s i t y o f Rome. S ince 2009, the Ind ian g roup has a l so chosen OZU as hos t ing cent re dur ing the i r summer European tour. The co l labo ra t ion i s in tens i f y ing w i th the o rgan iza t ion o f add i t iona l work shops tha t a re open to the pub l i c and w i l l t ake p lace in OZU dur ing the summer.