Last night I was at the San Francisco Yerba Buena Center for the Art Theater. The Alonso King Lines Ballet premiered their new program “Shostakovich.” In addition they performed one of their most successful ballets, “Rasa,” showing the interdependence of dance and Tabla music (see Youtube clips). This is modern ballet incorporating many modern dance elements. In the second half, Indian classical music with a modern twist was juxtaposed to accompany the dance movements. I particularly liked one module where there was a sequence of dance movements with a woman vocal singing Indian version of “blues,” Both vocal and balletic movements were quite primordial. It was enchanting and touched my soul. Both Indian musicians Zakir Hussain and Kala Ramnath were born into family of prodigious musical talent. Hussian played the Tabla (Indian drums – see picture) and Kamalth played the violin (see picture) which is not an instrument native to classical Indian music. By using the violin, she brings her country’s music to a new level. Also what is unusual is that she does not hold the violin clipped between her chin and shoulder. Instead she is sitting on the floor with her legs spread in front of her and the violin is placed in front of her chest. If I were designing a similar dance sequence, I would like to try using 南音 and modern dance, but bringing in balletic movements into it with a Chinese twist incorporating Beijing and Kunqi dance movements.” For me 南音 is our Chinese version of the “Blues.” There was another dance module I liked. Hussain, using the tabla (drum) to accompany the dance, Similar to Cantonese opera’s “Drums”, the dancer moved in line with the tempo of the drum. If I were designing a similar dance sequence, I would like to try using Cantonese opera’s gongs and drums to build a dance sequence. It was a magical evening, ending the evening with a deliciousMargherita pizza layered with Burrata cheese, which just melts in your mouth. youtube/watch?v=Krm0kkZTMC4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 22:51:16 +0000
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