The universe follows the rules of motion, just as societies follow laws. In Rhythm Divine, dancer-choreographer Astad Deboo collaborates with a troupe of Manipuri drummers to express these laws, searching for a heaven on earth through dance on a stage. The performance combines dance and music, drums and silence, rhythm and emotion. Stylised presentations of traditional rituals blends with ultra-modern kinesics, creating a world that is as eerie as it is worldly, spiritual and sensual in the same breath.
“The work goes beyond drumming,” Deboo says. And it is all about interaction — “There are jugalbandis and sequences using the stage floor as the drum surface, even the legs of the drummers to beat out the rhythm.” It has developed over two years and it is an ever-evolving piece that will change as various elements are explored and experimented with.
The starting point of the choreography is the technique of the dancers. Deboo understands their philosophies of movement and the work grows, flowers, changes, even as it is created. As with all Deboo’s works, this one also needs attention, audience concentration. “You cannot just sit relaxed and watch and listen.”
And at the end of the day, as he says, “Rhythm is very necessary, in dance or music. There is a spiritual communication” that takes place in any form of dance, music or style of expression. All these elements have been explored through dance, music and drumbeats. And, “It is divine.”
Rhythm Divine, Experimental Theatre, NCPA, March 15, 16, 17, 7 pm
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