27EntertainmentFollow us on www.twitter.com/easterneye • www.easterneye.eu • April 11 , 2014

by AsjAd NAzir

The talented devika rao has deliv-ered more than 1,200 performances all over the world and shown just why she is one of the finest exponents of classical indian dance.

For her latest project Yaa Devi, she has teamed up with exciting British dancers and leading arts organisations including Sampad. The project, which premieres at Mac Theatre in Birming­ham this week, has evolved out of re­search undertaken by Devika and ex­plores the idea that classical Indian dance can be made more accessible through contemporary narratives, without diluting the pu­rity of its vocabulary.

The piece is inspired by the theme of god­desses and female em­powerment and cleverly uses the bharatanatyam, kathak, odissi and yak­shagana dance styles to explore the roles of women in tradi­tional and contemporary societies.

Eastern Eye caught up with Devika to find out more about her classical journey, Yaa Devi, why passion is im­portant in performance and the future for Indian classical dance.

Who have been your greatest dance influences in india and the UK? I am from Mangalore and I can name a few artists from there who have in­spired me like (cousins) Chandrasheka and Girish Navada, Kolyur Ramachan­dra Rao and Venkatraman Ital. In the UK, I also met Professor CV Chandra­sekhar, which was life­changing – he is a very important teacher in my life.

how would you describe your journey in dance and what support have you received in your career?I’ve had great support wherever I’ve been. I moved from my hometown to Mumbai, then Malaysia and finally came to the UK in 2004. Since arriving here, I’ve worked on projects with great choreographers and with many differ­ent organisations.

All of the projects have been differ­ent; for example, there is one organisa­tion called Akademi in London where I took part in a dance spectacle called Initium. I worked with the London Col­lege of Fashion which helped with de­signing a costume inspired by my own traditional outfits. Through Sampad, I’ve danced in Birmingham University at the Barber Institute, where I was in­spired by the sculptures and created a video in the gallery, which was amazing (available on YouTube).

The work that is still very special to me is Sampad’s Mandala, which took place during the Olympics as part of London 2012 Festival. That is my once­in­a­lifetime work. From day one I was with Piali Ray OBE (director of Sampad and artistic director of Mandala) and Aakash Odedra (dancer and choreogra­pher), selecting music and choosing and auditioning artists. Everyone was amazing and the artists were all great.

Tell us about your latest production Yaa Devi?It’s a very interesting project. I am work­

ing with UK­based dancers Katie Ryan, Manuela Benini and Prem Rai, who are all professional artists and trained in Indian classical dance. My strengths are bharatanatyam, kuchipudi and yaksha­gana, which complement the other styles of odissi and kathak. The music is a chant about the goddess Durga and her qualities of female power. We want to send the message ‘you can do it, you can deal with it’. It’s really positive.

What were the main inspirations of the new piece?It is inspired by the theme of goddesses. We present stories of empowering women. This is a research and develop­

ment project and my main partners are Sampad and Yorkshire Dance Centre, Leeds. We have been working from last September on this project and have been mentored by Piali Ray and also Chitrale­

ka. Their experience is supporting me to understand how to develop my own work and how to involve collaborators. After working on so many projects all over the UK and India, this is the first piece I have developed by myself. It’s a lot of fun, but there is so much work involved in it. It’s not just performing, it’s more than that.

so what was the biggest challenge of putting the production together?The biggest challenge has been that the artists are not based in the same city, they come from different parts of the UK, and originally from different coun­tries. We all live in different places, have different art forms and speak different languages, so this project is about unifying those differences.

do you have a favourite moment in the show?There is one scene where we do jugal-bandi, which is like a dance conversa­tion. That is my favourite part. It’s like a compe­tition and is a very traditional way of performing. It’s usu­ally a competition be­tween two people but we are doing it with three. Combined with the music, it is just amazing.

What can audienc-es expect from the production?Diversity and unity. It is bringing many art forms and cultures together. We are all from different backgrounds and we do everything differently. But in the show, for that moment, we think in the same way and work together.

is the plan to take the show on tour?I would love to make it a bigger show and tour it. If we can get a grant, we would like to do

the show in six countries. It will

take time and plan­ning, but we are work­

ing on it. There are so many things I still have to

learn and because I am just a dance artist, I can’t do a big pro­

duction like this with out some experience. The support from Pi­

ali helps. I did not rea­lise it would

take up so much of my

time. It’s good fun, but it’s not easy.

According to you, what is the secret of a good performance?

Passion, plain and simple.

You have performed more than 1,200 times, so how do you

retain the same passion? It is a lot more than that

now! The passion increas­es day by day. I love it all

and I always want my performance to be

better next time. The audiences are different wherever you go. Some are a dance audience,

some are into the music and some are critics. Because

your audience is different, they expect you to be differ­

ent and adapt. It is lovely

to connect with them when you are dancing and that is my greatest aim. I can read their eyes and understand them – I communicate with them using my eyes.

What advice would you give to young and upcoming dancers?Do not dance to become a professional or a famous performer. Dance is for you to educate yourself and to become a good person.

What do you think is the future of in-dian classical dance?It’s bright. The wonderful challenge in Yaa Devi is for me to reach a wider au­diences and understand more about them, without diluting the art form.

Why should we watch Yaa Devi?I can produce my own solo work, but when we work together in a group it is different. The audience can find their stories and connect to it. It’s not my story, it’s everybody’s story and every­one can find that single thing which reflects their normal life. It’s about the strengthening of woman power. Finally, why do you love dance?Dance is my best friend, that’s why I love to dance.

Yaa Devi is being staged at Mac The-atre in Birmingham on Sunday (13). Visit www.sampad.org.uk and www.

macbirmingham.co.uk for more.

‘It is aboutunity anddiversity’

Yaa Devi: Of goddesses and positive messagesdancer devika rao discusses her new work