Two dance forms, one great performance
For Raul D’Souza, a Bharat Natyam dancer, and his wife Mitali, an Odissi performer, dance is the ruling passion of their lives.
For Raul D’Souza, a Bharat Natyam dancer, and his wife Mitali, an Odissi performer, dance is the ruling passion of their lives, which eventually led to the formation of Temple Bells, a duet incorporating a unique blend of their dance styles.
Mitali has been dancing since she was six years’ old. Her parents decided to train her in Odissi “as it was one of the lesser-known dance forms”. They approached Jhelum Paranjpe, the famous Odissi exponent, to take Mitali under her tutelage as her very first student.
Raul started taking dancing lessons since he was 11. He decided to participate in classes organised by Father Francis Barboza, or the naked priest as he is more famously known “to get a better understanding of my Indianness and my culture”. Barboza is known for using the existing framework of Bharat Natyam to depict the stories written in the Bible. Raul has also been dancing as the male lead in Hema Malini’s ballets, be it Vishnu or Krishna, for almost 11 years now. He has also trained under Bharat Natyam exponent Deepak Mazumdar.
The couple met while participating in the Akhil Bharatiya Yuva Mahotsav. Mitali saw Raul’s performance and liked the fact that “he didn’t look like a pansy when he danced”. She stayed on till the end to see Raul perform, and win.
They met again when Jhelum Paranjpe was choreographing a ballet based on Leelavati by Bhaskaracharya. Mitali was essaying the character of Leelavati and Raul the handsome young man she dreams about. They soon decided to turn this dream sequence into reality.
While Mitali has been actively pursuing dance for over two decades, for Raul it is more a vocation as family responsibilities take precedence.
In 2003 they decided to perform together at the San Antonio National Asian Dance convention. The idea was well received by their gurus who helped them choreograph a performance which was well received by the audience. And so Temple Bells was created.
Mitali and Raul claim that their joint performances “are not jugalbandis, but a complement of their dance styles”. The styles may be different but they have some similarity, for instance, Bharat Natyam has more broad and sweeping gestures and Odissi has shorter, crisper gestures, explains Raul and Mitali demonstrating some hand gestures together.
“We begin a typical performance with an invocation to the Lord. Then there is a small demonstration for the lay persons in the audience of the hand gestures to be used in the performance,” says Raul. After which, they proceed to present solo items alongside. They end with a duet. At no point does one stop to let the other perform like in a jugalbandi. They perform together, complimenting each other, explains Mitali.
Mitali has been dancing since she was six years’ old. Her parents decided to train her in Odissi “as it was one of the lesser-known dance forms”. They approached Jhelum Paranjpe, the famous Odissi exponent, to take Mitali under her tutelage as her very first student.
Raul started taking dancing lessons since he was 11. He decided to participate in classes organised by Father Francis Barboza, or the naked priest as he is more famously known “to get a better understanding of my Indianness and my culture”. Barboza is known for using the existing framework of Bharat Natyam to depict the stories written in the Bible. Raul has also been dancing as the male lead in Hema Malini’s ballets, be it Vishnu or Krishna, for almost 11 years now. He has also trained under Bharat Natyam exponent Deepak Mazumdar.
The couple met while participating in the Akhil Bharatiya Yuva Mahotsav. Mitali saw Raul’s performance and liked the fact that “he didn’t look like a pansy when he danced”. She stayed on till the end to see Raul perform, and win.
They met again when Jhelum Paranjpe was choreographing a ballet based on Leelavati by Bhaskaracharya. Mitali was essaying the character of Leelavati and Raul the handsome young man she dreams about. They soon decided to turn this dream sequence into reality.
While Mitali has been actively pursuing dance for over two decades, for Raul it is more a vocation as family responsibilities take precedence.
In 2003 they decided to perform together at the San Antonio National Asian Dance convention. The idea was well received by their gurus who helped them choreograph a performance which was well received by the audience. And so Temple Bells was created.
Mitali and Raul claim that their joint performances “are not jugalbandis, but a complement of their dance styles”. The styles may be different but they have some similarity, for instance, Bharat Natyam has more broad and sweeping gestures and Odissi has shorter, crisper gestures, explains Raul and Mitali demonstrating some hand gestures together.
“We begin a typical performance with an invocation to the Lord. Then there is a small demonstration for the lay persons in the audience of the hand gestures to be used in the performance,” says Raul. After which, they proceed to present solo items alongside. They end with a duet. At no point does one stop to let the other perform like in a jugalbandi. They perform together, complimenting each other, explains Mitali.