Srishti: Play Ball: UK Tour 9 October - 14 November 2008

Play Ball, a triple bill of short pieces from a male-dominated cast, is about Lads' Culture and shows off “what the lads do” when at work, when at play and when in love… and boy do our lads love to show off! The use of complex footwork that Bharatanatyam and football share makes a testosterone charged peacock like display of skill. The dancers and musicians become 2 teams… they tackle, they shoot, they fake injury like all the greats… a goal is scored, the crowd erupts and the celebration dance ensues. Never before has Bharatanatyam been so competitive!

Chemistry is the lovers’ reunion after a tiff. ‘Will she play ball?’ he thinks as he tries to woo her back. This male-female duet, induced with passion and laced with vigorous but playful rhythmic passages creates a romantic and fiery dance that celebrates love and happiness and the softer side to men.

Quick! is the winning piece of the Place Prize 2006 , Europe ’s largest choreographic competition sponsored by Bloomberg. In “Quick!”, an energised display of 8 London businessmen unravels. Are the business associates going to play ball and close the deal? “Quick!” is a piece reflecting today’s cut-throat business world.

To Nina, Bharatanatyam is the perfect medium for this piece. Not only because that’s the style she has trained in, but also because the form is characterised by precision and accuracy. It has clean, crisp angular/geometric movements, governed by symmetry. The technique fits the concept of Quick! very appropriately. It is also quite a formal style, so it also fits the businessman image. Nina sees the rhythmic complexity that Bharatanatyam allows correlating to the “big money” talks that London businessmen engage in on a day-to-day basis.

PLAY BALL continues the unparalleled collaboration between choreographer Nina Rajarani and composer Y Yadavan that has steadily consolidated over the last few years and has been an integral part of the company’s recent successes

Srishti is a dance company that creates and presents work within a contemporary setting whilst maintaining the authenticity of Indian classical dance and music.

AUTUMN 2008 TOUR DATES