A baptism of dance, music, and light.
These two performances centring around the theme of motherhood, especially in relation to loss and societal expectations of women, were told through the medium of Indian dance, and both were produced by MILAP, the UK’s leading Indian Arts and Culture company.
The first performance (an excerpt from Gobardhan’s Caught Again in the Net of Rebirth), took a modern street-dance-informed approach to Indian dance. This was reflected in the costumes, which had traditional Indian silhouettes but in a muted colour scheme. The performance was abstract, with the dance reflecting emotions more than a narrative. The piece begins in darkness, with black curtains and liquid-like black flooring, creating a liminal effect like you’ve been transported into a different plane of existence (possibly the subconscious mind of a mother). The music (live singing with prerecorded instrumentals) certainly aided this effect, hypnotically drawing the audience into the symbolic world created by Gobardhan. The bodies of the dancers are abstracted, becoming machinery, weapons, animals, and multiple bodies that move as one. The lighting design emphasises this, creating vivid moments of strength and intimacy (both literal and emotional). What is really fascinating about this piece is that it is made up of several men and only one woman. This is an interesting choice, and is especially potent when two of the male dancers form the shape of a vagina and give birth to another man. Perhaps this is a reflection of how much control that men have over women’s bodies.
The second performance (Ramchandi’s Just Enough Madness) had clearer narrative elements and took an approach that focused on more purely Indian dance. Again, this was reflected through the costuming, this time with the traditional silhouettes being brightly coloured and complemented by cultural makeup and jewellery. In this performance, men are present but are more background players, with the female voice taking centre stage. This is both through the primary mother figure but also through the singing of the grandmother figure, highlighting the generational strain of motherhood.
Ramchandani’s performance was much longer than Gobardhan’s, and honestly, although it was very enjoyable at first, it dragged a lot, especially due to frequent use of repetition. There was a desire for the final release, the moment of breaking free and divulging into madness, but there is only so long that you can stay on the edge of your seat before you fall off it.
A recurring image in the performance was that of fabric and rope. Rope was used symbolically to show the battle that motherhood brings, with the dancers pushing, pulling and tangling with it. Poetry was also a key part of the performance, which, for the most part, beautifully accompanied the dance and music, to show the struggles of motherhood. To quote Ramchandi: ‘Once my womb was a forest alive with light … now I am faded whispers.’
An element that really shone bright in Ramchandi’s performance was the space it allowed for joy and play, with cultural traditions amongst family and community, being placed within the context of the role that women are obliged to play within them. A central theme was pretending to be ok to fit the role of woman and/or mother. This was reflected by the facial movements showing the daily performance that women have to do and the mask they have to wear, as Ramchandi says: ‘Still I smile because isn’t that what mothers do’, which then results in the panicked puppet-like dancing reflecting how women are controlled under patriarchy, as Ramchandi pleads ‘I am no god with arms of plenty’. There is a false end where the woman seems to embrace both the joy and suffering of motherhood and is no longer hiding from either, instead embracing the complexities of motherhood. This would have been a really strong place to end the performance, and yet it went on for much longer than necessary.
Although the themes of motherhood were universal, it would be interesting to know how the experience of someone of the same language/ culture would have experienced the show differently with their gained insight. However, in both performances, the amazing dancing, music, and lighting design conveyed meaning beyond language and culture, to create a vivid exploration of what it is like to be a mother.
‘Just Enough Madness’ and ‘Caught Again in the Net of Rebirth’ were performed as a double bill at the Lowry, Manchester, on Tuesday, 31st March.
