prachi sibal prachi. sibal@ mid- day. com Cont emporar y dancer Astad Deboo, on a phone call before the Chennai premiere of Same Same But Different, is excited about the audience and response the piece might bring. After all, this is a unique collaboration.
While it may not be Deboou2019s first stage outing with Korean artistes ( he was part of Hamlet Avataar, an Indo- Korean theatre production in 2015), this is his first time performing with a Korean and Indian ensemble of musicians. The show will be presented for the first time in Mumbai next week.
Initiated by Chennai- based InKo Centre that works towards Indo- Korean cultural exchange, the production was first developed through a residency in December 2016. On stage in a three- part performance will be Noreum Machi, Korean new wave music troupe, classical ensemble Trayam and Deboo himself.
u201c I perform a piece called Surrender with a Carnatic duet that is about the frustration and angst with what is happening in the world and our country today.
The key words we worked with were torment and sorrow,u201d says Deboo. Trayam features percussionist BC Manjunath, vocalist Varijashree Venugopal also on the flute and composer Praveen D Rao.
In the second part, he performs with the Korean music troupe with artistic director Ju- Hong Kim, Hyun- ju Oh and Howon Lee on percussion, Gyeongsik Kim on the saenghwang and piri and Hyeyeong Oh on the gayageum, that according to Deboo, u201c spoke to him instantly.u201d The third part of the performance will witness the coming together of the ensemble.
u201c There are also parts where the musicians collaborate with each other. It shows how music transgresses barriers and you stop looking at forms and instruments separately,u201d Deboo explains adding that in these his was a fluid response to the music through dance.
Besides the expected language barriers, Deboo admits that the process of coming together was seamless. As for the audience, he says, u201c Some will come for the music or the dance while others, for the coming together of the two.u201d ON February 21, 7 pm AT Royal Opera House, Mathew Road, Girgaum.
LOG ON TO insider. in COST R 499 Bridge between cultures At this performance, the Korean gayageum meets the Carnatic mridangam as Astad Deboo responds through dance event Deboo was part of an Indo- Korean theatre production in 2015. This is his first time at performing with a Korean and Indian ensemble of musicians
