Padmini Chettur’s “Varnam” and Pichet Klunchun’s “I Am A Demon”: An Instructive Contrast
about 68 months ago (10/04/2018)
Padmini Chettur’s "Varnam" and Pichet Klunchun’s "I Am A Demon": An Instructive Contrast | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles October 4, 2018 By Bilqis Hijjas (975 words, four-minute read) If you have ever felt that classical Indian dance is too melodramatic – if you have ever rolled your eyes at a dancer’s fervid abhinaya, or a poem narrator’s extravagant diction – or if you think all the bright drapery, clashing saris, and coloured lights are unbearably gaudy, then Padmini Chettur’s Varnam is the corrective you have been waiting for. By stripping out all the excess of costume, music, movement, and facial expression, this work deconstructs bharatanatyam and returns it in a barely recognisable form. A hand gesture here, a snatch of rhythm there – this minimalist Varnam might make you long for the overstuffed original.