The second edition of a unique dance showcase at an Andheri venue this week will be presented minus rehearsals, and with on-the-spot improvisations
Jainil Mehta performs at the University of Southern California Gala in New York City in 2024. pic courtesy/whitney browne
Dancers don’t just perform choreographed routines. Sometimes, they let loose, allowing the music or an idea to lead their body. An upcoming showcase at Veda Black Box, titled Errors OnlEEE is modelled around this concept. It consists of solo, duet, trio, or group performances inspired by real-time improvisation games, during which artistes will perform without any prior rehearsals and choreography.
Jyoti Naik (standing), a dancer from the previous edition, interprets a prompt using a prop. Pic courtesy/Bala
Jainil Mehta, curator and lead artiste, spells out the idea for us, “Speaking in layman terms, imagine any sort of skit with a few people performing, or an exercise where participants are given prompts to begin any topic of discussion. This is a similar performance, except through dance. Apart from myself, three artistes will be on stage; I will guide them throughout.” The aim is to inspire emerging dancers in a live performance setting, with no rules regarding how one can utilise dance as an art.
Aditya Shastri and Manish Poonam
Mehta, who informs us that this is the second edition of the showcase (the first having been held on November 20, at the same venue), walks us through what audiences can expect, “I will give the dancers prompts, which they will interpret individually, and use them to move creatively, but with intention. Some prompts include common actions that have an actor and a reactor, whilst others draw the performer into depicting a gradual series of actions within a larger whole — one such prompt was ‘How to delete Instagram’; the steps listed for this in the AI overview that pops up after a Google search, were used to showcase how the app can be deleted, through dance moves. Similarly, there are prompts like ‘depicting’ the water cycle, or the law of diminishing marginal utility, wherein the first step must portray immense satisfaction, but as the sequence progresses, this element will reduce; the artiste must show their dissatisfaction with their body.” For anyone who loves all things ‘impromptu’, this kind of stage act should be a treat for the eye.
Tarini Tripathi. Pics courtesy/Tarini Tripathi; Manish Poonam; Aditya Shastri
Mehta adds, “Another way is to bring memory into the games, by assigning dancers certain areas, allowing them to familiarise themselves with them; then, blindfolding them to test how much of their area they recall purely through their senses.”
The upcoming edition of the act features Kathak dancer, Tarini Tripathi, waacking (a street dance form) artiste, Manish Poonam, and hip-hop performer, Aditya Shastri. Mehta, a contemporary ballet artiste himself, expresses, “I try to get specialists of varying dance styles, from jazz to breakdance, so as to incorporate different interpretations of the same prompt; each dancer replicates the prompt in their own way.” He signs off by saying, “Errors OnlEEE has a more niche target audience: Those who adore dance in all its forms, and are intrigued by unconventional, inclusive artistic approaches, where performers make mistakes and
try again.”
On December 12; 8.15 pm onwards
At Veda Black Box by Veda Factory, Aram Nagar Part 2, Versova, Andheri West.
Log on to jainilmehta.org
Entry Rs 500
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