Dance Trance by Sandip Soparrkar

There are many art festivals in India that bring forward dance, music, drama and other aspects of arts to their audience. ‘The Feet on Earth’ is a new but unique art festival that brings together dance, music and visual art all put together in a basket with a beautiful theme and motif, this year it being ‘Dharani.’ Kuchipudi exponent Pujita Krishna, who hails from Hyderabad and is also the festival head and curator, spoke to me about her joy of enriching people’s lives with her much appreciated festival, which does not have any government support and is only backed by companies, organisations and individuals, excerpts from the interview;

Tell us about your dance background and education

I was born and raised as a Force kid until my teens. So as a daughter of an Air Force officer, I travelled across India and lived in remote parts of the country. That certainly helped develop an early appreciation for different cultures and traditions.

I learnt Bharatanatyam and even some Kathak as a young girl during our many transfers to different towns. Studied Carnatic music as well for several years. But, it was only after college that I took up dance as a serious pursuit having learnt under several gurus. I even went to Shri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra to study Kathak there! But eventually, Kuchipudi became my mainstay even though I even trained for a year or so in Odissi under Guru Uday Kumar Shetty in Bangalore. I came under the mentorship of Dr Anupama Kylash around 2003 and performed with her in several of her productions. I also began training in Vilasini Natyam under Swapna Sundari in 2006. So my education in dance has been quite varied and diverse. In 2008 I went to University of California (Irvine) to pursue my Master’s in dance (MFA) and I graduated in 2010. During my time in UCI I learnt some modern, Latin dances, flamenco, jazz and very very basic ballet. I came back to India and founded Feet on Earth.

While Feet on Earth ran as a physical space for learners of dance for ten years, now it is more conceptual- I concentrate on promoting a more authentic and holistic understanding of dance through my writings, creative work and events such as the Feet on Earth Festival.

What made you start ‘The Feet on Earth’ festival and why this name?

Well, first and foremost, very few places in India have cultural events that create a sort of larger community consciousness about arts- music, dance and visual arts. Most Indian knowledge systems are rooted in deeply connected philosophies which recognise the universal oneness of everything. Our performing traditions are also knowledge systems. So, the core idea behind the festival is to bring out the interconnectedness of aspects of relevant history, performing arts, traditions, heritage and ecological concerns. The name reflects our core philosophy premised in the intimate rapport a dancer has with the earth. Every Indian dancer performs a prayer seeking the permission of mother earth to dance at the beginning of her performance and at the end as a thanksgiving, that is why this name.

How is your festival different from other festivals?

This year was our second edition. We try to assign a motif to the festival. Last year, the motif was Apah- water. Most of the things we try to do are connected to the chosen motif in some way or the other. For example, since apah was our motif last year, we organised it at the Salarjung Museum on the banks of the river Musi. As a tribute to the river, we opened the evening with a short audio visual presentation on the ancient origins of the river which dates back to Treta Yuga. We also had informative displays on various water tanks, reservoirs and lakes in and around Hyderabad. So, the idea is to bring some eco-consciousness and knowledge of history while trying to instil an appreciation for the arts. We also attempt to bring more diverse and sometimes lesser known forms to the fore. Last year, we showcased Karnataka Yakshagana by hereditary performers.

This year our motif was Dharani-earth. The venue chosen to showcase the event was a restored stepwell called the Bansilalpet Stepwell. We had a visual artist from Surat exhibit his paintings titled ‘Stepwell Series’ in the festival- he is perhaps the only artist in the country who has done extensive work on stepwells as a theme. We also had exhibits sharing little interesting titbits about stepwells- especially the ones in Gujarat. One of the presentations was a site specific work of storytelling/theatrical work by Kriti Stories presented inside the stepwell. A rare ritual tradition called Gayon Bayon was presented by hereditary performers from Assam. Kali Billi Productions from Mumbai showcased their work Lavanyavati that traces the history of Lavani along with Tamasha in the form of documentary theatre. Bharatnatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kuchipudi were other solo traditions featured. We also organised a pre-event heritage walk on the opening day of the festival.

This year we had interesting artist line up; Lavani by Kali Billi Productions (Mumbai), Bharatnatyam by Satwika Penna (Hyderabad) and Site specific work called 'Pushkarini' (storytelling by Kriti Stories, Hyderabad), Gayon Bayon by Sri Sri Jorabari Satra (Assam), Mohiniyattam by Gopika Varma (Chennai) and Kuchipudi by me. 

 What plans do you have for the future of the festival?

Well, to keep going till we can with all the enthusiasm we can muster. We would love to be able to bring different aspects of history and heritage to the fore in the future as well and yes if given an opportunity would love to set up such festivals with Motifs in various parts of India. I know metro cities already have existing festivals but two and three tier cities would love our concept and I would love to take The Feet on Earth festival there.