Are You Insan(e)? A Contemporary Dance Show

There are many dance forms that are getting popular in the world and contemporary dance is on the top of the list. Contemporary dance itself has many forms under its huge umbrella. In the last two decades India too has opened its arms towards this highly expressive and physical dance form, there are many dancers, performers and teachers of contemporary dance who have made a mark for themselves in India.

Yuteka Trripati is one such artist who is young, dynamic and determined to take contemporary dance to newer heights. She is a contemporary dance artist, based in Pune. She graduated in dance, majoring in choreography from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore, and has a diploma in dance from Attakallari Centre of Movement Arts. In 2015, she founded her own studio space, Yuteka Trripati Dance, where she has been training dance enthusiasts in contemporary dance technique and choreography. Over the years, Yuteka has choreographed for multiple festivals, as well as showcased a number of her own productions.

Recently Yuteka along with her talented team presented a very interested and unique contemporary dance show ‘Are you Insan(e)?’. I spoke with the very excited Yuteka about her show and more, excerpts from the interview:

Why did I choose unique this concept?
I have always been very interested in understanding how humans have two distinct sides to them; one when they are in a place of their comfort, and the other when they have to in public. It is very intriguing for me to see this stark difference between the two sides of human behaviour. Why is it ok to be a certain way in our personal space, but if we behave that way in public, it’s unacceptable? With such ease, we term people as ‘crazy’ or ‘insane’, when they are just themselves in public, and yet we ourselves behave like that in our private spaces. This piece is an exploration of this concept; an attempt to understand why we are the way we are, and what is actually ’insane’? And does the definition of this word change with where we are?

Tell me more about Are You Insan(e)?
We had premiered this show at the Canvas dance festival and since then been performing it. Being stuck between the two very intricately intertwined worlds of Insaniyat (humanity) & Insanity, one can often find themselves confused and blurring the thin line that divides these two worlds. It can perhaps be so difficult to keep being the ‘Insan’ (human) that we are supposed to be, when every cell in our body wants to go back to the comfort of the insanity that lies within. How much can we push it, before being labelled as ‘Insane’ instead of ‘Insan’ (human)? This piece is an appreciation to all the insanity that we carry within us, but only allows it to come out when no one else is watching.
‘Are you insane?’ Is a three-part performance, performed by 10 dancers, who are trying to explore the crossovers between insanity & insaniyat. This piece is our take on so many different flavours in people that we come across every day. Each one is living a unique story, which is what makes them ‘Insan’ or ‘Insane’, or in most cases, a mixture of both. Inspired by the various characters that we are surrounded by, this piece, using the language of Contemporary Dance, is an attempt to present its own take on the mix of humanity and insanity, in different levels.

Who would you like to give credit for the show?
I have done the concept and choreography, performers are Erika Shaw, Nagraj Kundan, Eshan Sirharskar, Shirin Sabuwala, Kalyani Lonsane, Tanishka Vaikunthe, Jahan Sagar, Shreya Pillai, Akshay Jagtap and Shahzad Jaipuria. Stage lighting by Amitava Sarkar, dramaturgy by Dev Chakraborty. Live Musicians (Tabla and Vocal) were Amol Shirsagar and Avinash Shirsagar. Recorded Music- Philip Glass, Apu Nanu and the Time Machine.

Where do you see the future of contemporary dance in India?
With time, there are more and more Contemporary Dance artists emerging in India. I am also continuing to train dancers, and I know that there are others like me. We still do have population in Dance, who is unaware about this particular dance form. A lot of times Bollywood takes over a lot of the dance forms and because of that there is a lot of misinformation amongst dancers about the correct techniques of these forms. Contemporary dance is a beautiful form that we have adapted from the West. Having its roots in Ballet and Modern, Contemporary Dance has emerged over many years, of different Dancers constantly trying to create something new, relevant, and in the present. So I think once there is more awareness about this dance form in India, we can be hopeful that it can catch the same popularity here, as it does in the West.

How would you differentiate contemporary dance with Indian contemporary dance?
Contemporary Dance can be a breakaway from any classical dance form, whether it is Ballet or Bharatanatyam. There are many Indian dancers who are trained in classical Indian dance forms and who turned to Contemporary Dance at some point in their life to break the form and create more organic movement that might suit their body better. The difference between western Contemporary Dance and Indian Contemporary Dance is essentially just about the classical dance form that the dancers are exploring in a contemporary manner.

What according to you is the state of contemporary dance in India compared to the west?
As of now, I think there is lack of information out there. And unfortunately, there are also dance teachers, who are not themselves trained in Contemporary Dance, but are teaching it. Since this form comes from classical Ballet and modern dance, dancers in the west are obviously more informed about it, and they have more teachers and studios teaching Contemporary Dance.

Sandip Soparrkar holds a doctorate in world mythology folklore from Pacific University USA, an honorary doctorate in performing arts from the National American University, He is a World Book Record holder,
a well-known Ballroom dancer and a Bollywood choreographer who has been honored with three
National Excellence awards, one National Achievement Award and Dada Saheb Phalke award
by the Government of India. He can be contacted on [email protected]