WHO ARE THEY?
the KALAI KAVIRI-Ni quartet…
…has a nucleus of two young and multiple first prize-winning dancers JESTY VARGHEESE and PRABIN VILLARIES. Both she and he have performed solo internationally and are staff members from the prestigious Kàlai Kàviri College of Fine Arts, southern India, which is part of the (Roman Catholic) Diocese of Trichy and is affiliated to the five-star Bharathidasan University. It is one of only two dedicated university Colleges of dance and music in all India with academic programmes to PhD level and has been given the accolade of ‘Best Cultural Institution 2000’ by its State government, partly through recruiting two-thirds of students from poor and outcaste families whereas classical dance has generally been élitist. Each dancer holds a Master’s degrees in Bharathanatyam and is on secondment. They will be supported by two Master’s students as part of their College programme, who have also performed and instructed in the UK and internationally as Kàlai Kàviri troupe members.
What’s distinctive?
While Kàlai Kàviri’s curriculum has maintained the purity of reconstructed Bharathanatyam by following the Pandanainallur style through the legacy of Rukmini Devi of the Kalakshetra Foundation, the choreography and productions of Kàlai Kàviri are consciously different. They draw on both classical and folk styles in order to appeal to people of all walks of life and to avoid being restricted to the élites. This is possible because folk and popular dance in India are part of ordinary culture. The core philosophy of Kàlai Kàviri’s presentations is therefore to communicate and to be understood, that is to have message, meaning and relevance in each dance and in each part of that dance.
The foundation choreography, music and compositions are the inspiration of four staff members of KK: Vidya Antony, Ogeswari Shanmuganathan, Natarajan Paramasivam and Vincent Dhanaraj. On the other hand the Kàlai Kàviri culture ensures that other staff and students also contribute to the creative process. The Kàlai Kàviri-Ni team has further grafted onto that rich mix with choreography of its own and inspired also by its new departure into Creative Movement and by the two Animators for that (see next panel).
Underlying philosophy
Kàlai Kàviri is committed “… to be courier of a treasured tradition, through learning excellence, leading to performance which conveys human values and spiritual themes, whether on stage or in sacred spaces, and draws on the talents and inspiration of young people from all creeds and classes, especially the disadvantaged, in order to bring dignity to individuals, service to society, holiness to faith, harmony to the world, and glory to creation.”
Kàlai Kàviri’s UK history
Kàlai Kàviri has made 25 international tours in as many years. Its troupe of ten dancers came to UK for a month’s tour in each of 2004 and 2005. Altogether, they danced at 8 theatres, 11 cathedrals, 8 Hindu temples, 20 churches, 12 school workshops, 2 melas, one prison, one city festival, and a Royal inauguration by HRH Duke of Gloucester – more details on www.kalaikaviri.org.uk Since then the Kàlai Kàviri-Ni team has been formed to spend the whole academic year in England to offer both creative movement workshops in schools and performance on stage and in sacred spaces.
derived Bharathanatyam as well as folk dance…
within the overall framework of the Kàlai Kàviri tradition outlined in the previous sections of this leaflet. The folk traditions are mainly from Tamil Nadu and Kerala but also from Gujurat, Punjab, Andra Pradesh and Orissa.
liturgical dance in sacred spaces…
Bharathanatyam’s roots are in sacred dance, even though there have been successful efforts to secularise it. Kàlai Kàviri’s wide repertoire has been adapted:
either for temple hall stages for which the Kàlai
Kàviri main troupe is a regular and popular performer, some 50
temples in India over the last decade and already eight in the UK; or for
the sanctuary of cathedrals and churches both during and after liturgical
services, whether eucharistic or otherwise. For instance for six parts
of the Mass, there are special dances which have been described as three
dimensional psalms and which could also be used as part of Evensong.
Using them, the main troupe has danced twice for Pope John Paul II in
1987 and 1990;
or with inter-faith potential when interspersed with
readings from different scriptures or reflection or meditation.
creative movement workshops for schools and community groups… at one remove from the pure south Asian tradition and cultural awareness (this time the dancers are in track bottoms and T-shirts) but still drawing from it. The workshops have been designed to maximise engagement and interaction, involving every participant as fully as possible. This matters because the fostering of every young person’s ‘kinaesthetic intelligence’ should help personal development, poise, achievement and creativity. The new workshops have been designed with the involvement of Grace Valentine-trained movement specialist Tripura Kashyap in Hyderabad and also Bisakha Sarker from the Merseyside-based agency Chaturangan and who is well known throughout the UK for her ability to cross boundaries and yet hand over ownership to the groups with whom she works. A separate Creative Movement leaflet is available.
PROMOTERS, PARTNERS, SOURCES…
KÀLAI KÀVIRI COLLEGIATE ARTS (UK)
Registered Charity no.1109544;
administers performances and academic programmes in collaboration with
local groups.
(Patron: Lord Navnit Dholakia; Trustees: Revd Susai Alangaram,
Barbara Butler, Keith Clark, Dr Ann David, Neil Hughes, Bernard Kilroy,
Dr Kandiah Somasundararaj).
Contact: Bernard and Janine Kilroy (Joint Secretaries)
10 Hunts Common, Hartley Wintney, Hook, Hampshire RG27 8NT
email bernardkilroy@uk2.net
tel 01252 843133
website www.kalaikaviri.org.uk
MANASAMITRA, which partners Kàlai Kàviri Collegiate Arts,
is an artist led organisation based in Yorkshire that promotes South
Asian arts, skills and heritage among UK communities.
website www.manasamitra.com
KÀLAI KÀVIRI COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS (Tiruchirappalli, S.
India) is the main source of the dancers.
website www.kalaikavirifinearts.com
