Contemporary dancer Astad Deboo ditches professionals for homeless kids from the Salaam Baalak Trust to put up what promises to be a dazzling end to a 9 month-long gruelling training
Contemporary dancer Astad Deboo ditches professionals for homeless kids from the Salaam Baalak Trust to put up what promises to be a dazzling end to a 9 month-long gruelling training
Boys don't cry. Women are from Venus. Parents don't say yes to live-in relationships. Sex education spoils. You fall in love only once however hard you try, prejudices are hard to shed. So what is it that you expect from kids who leave their homes, helpless, hurt or just in a fit of rage? Not everyone's destiny is scripted like Slumdog Jamaal's. But some strive to make the world around them believe that it's hardly important who you are when the focus is on what you can be. Too philosophical? Then we suggest you book a seat for contemporary dancer Astad Deboo's upcoming show.
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Bollywood jhatkas to contemporary moves
"What do you do with untrained bodies? That's the first question that hit me when I picked up these children. But they were so eager, willing and prepared to get trained, that I didn't need to audition. I believed in their gusto, and my understanding of the art. And I am not regretting it," says the Padma Shri winning choreographer. Behind Breaking Boundaries, that's slated to be held next month, is a nine-month long intensive training that transformed Bollywood jhatka-matka obsessed youngsters to contemporary dance devotees. "You don't call them devotees for nothing. But to make them what they are, wasn't a cinch. All they knew were filmi jhatkas. For the first two months, we conducted workshops to spot their physical potency. Then I introduced them to my style of dance, which is demanding yet pleasurable. Now that they are ready to perform, I feel content," he smiles.
It's their moment
The show that's being organised by the Astad Deboo Dance Foundation in association with the National Centre for Performing Arts, will feature 13 trained dancers from the Salaam Baalak Trust, New Delhi. Together, a total of five abstract sequences will be interwoven to present the process of evolution. Astad drops in on stage for a bit in the curtain call item; high on action and catchy. "It's their show, their moment of fame. Why steal what they deserve? The sixth piece has been choreographed to accept the applause," says the dancer who plans to interact with the audience after the opening show.
Little Terrorist can dance
Every participant has a story to tell. Tired of bickering parents, Rohit Verma eloped from his Chandigarh home when he was 12. "Some day, I'll be a choreographer. I want to develop my own style, which need not necessarily be a Michael Jackson lift. With this show, I feel I've started the journey." The star of the show though, is 17 year-old Salim Ali Zaidi, lead actor from Ashvin Kumar's Oscar nominated short film, Little Terrorist. "I was separated from my parents while we were attending a procession. I reunited with them two years ago, but I don't stay with them," says the boy who will be seen next in Ashvin Kumar's The Forest, where he plays actor Javed Jaffrey's son.
On: October 1, 2 and 3 at 7 pm.
At: Experimental Theatre, National Centre For Performing Arts, Nariman Point.
Tickets: Rs 300 and Rs 200.
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