An experimental performance piece seeks to bridge the gap between the visual and non-visual experience of dance through audio description tools, music and the body
A moment from a rehearsal in Hamburg
To design a performance for sensory organs, other than the eyes, can be more challenging than we imagine. “It can be a reality check,” shares Damini Gairola, artiste and creator of the performance piece, Thank You For Your Visit, that makes its India debut today at the Mahalaxmi venue of G5A.
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Yet, it was this unique and unexplored audience that drew her attention during an artist residency in Hamburg back in 2021. “It was the post-pandemic period, and I wanted to write something that spoke of my experience of two pandemics — being away from home, and experiencing the pandemic,” the Bengaluru-based Gairola says. Having worked with mentors on productions that utilised audio description, the artiste chose to embark on an idea that utilised it as an element of her performance.
Props are used as tactile tools in the performance
Words as a creative tool
“Audio description is an accessibility feature that is used in videos on YouTube, Netflix and some platforms, to enable visually impaired individuals to experience events on the screen through audio. It is also practiced live in events, and theatres, with an individual describing the show,” shares Maitreyee Joshi, Gairola’s partner in the production. Joshi was initially roped in by Gairola as an ‘outside perspective’ for her Hamburg residency, but soon was an irrefutable part of the performance itself.
With the performance built around the shared experience of unexpressed grief, the duo realised that audio description required an understanding of language as an experiential tool. In the dance, it becomes, Joshi points out, the ‘third performer’.
The performers interact with the audience seated around them in a circle; (right) ← Damini Gairola (left) and Maitreyee Joshi in performance. Pics Courtesy/Oncu Gultekin
Language for a seeing individual is often built on unconscious visual reference points. An innocuous quip as ‘Look there’ might leave a visually impaired audience confused. The duo reached out to accessibility experts to help them bring a non-sighted perspective. In Germany, Ursina Tossi, Naomi Sanfo, Sophia Neises, Nicole Meyer offered them inputs, while Dominic MJ and Mayuri Atre have collaborated with them on the India leg. “Dominic is a dancer who lost his sight a few years ago, and works with the film industry in South India. He and Mayuri sat through our performances and would listen to the audio description whilst offering us feedback.”
Linguistic borders
While most audio descriptions can be dry in order to relay accurate information, the performance called for expressive language that was not always precise. “There is never going to be a blueprint to describe the exact thing since almost everything for a non-sighted person is imaginative’,” reveals Joshi. Gairola admits, “Since we approach our audio description as an artistic and creative tool, we understand that its reception will be subjective.”
While the initial performance had audio in German, the Indian leg threw in another variable into the mix. They opted for an English description, before Aabha Soumitra (composer and vocalist handling the integrated description) pointed out that most visually impaired in India use the vernacular. Now, the auditory information is primarily in English with Marathi inputs.
Touch tactics
Words were not the only tool in the artistes’ arsenal. The music composed by Anne Leira van poppel y lubeigt is specifically shaped, while keeping in mind the audio description. Gairola adds, “We do not have any vocal elements in the music. It was composed specifically for the piece, and the conversation was about including audio description as part of the rhythm.”
One more input from the experts was the need for tactile reference points brought in by tasks, props and movements that make the audience a participant. “The performance also takes place in a circle. We inculcated a lot of sound-based movements where breath, information from the ground under you and dynamism add to the experience,” Joshi informs us.
On tour
The Mumbai show is part of their G5A Warehouse Performance Grant, and Pune and Bengaluru will follow. The duo remarks that it is not an easy task. From costs on language research for the audio description to finding volunteers to help sight-impaired audiences attend the performances, there are challenges. Joshi says, “We always think of everything, from offering our visually-impaired audiences a tour before the performance, to helping them get familiar with the stage. But you always learn something more.”
ON Today; 6 pm (touch tour); 6.30 pm (performance)
AT G5A Warehouse, Laxmi Mills Estate, Mahalaxmi West.
CALL 9075929809 (for touch tour)
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