Swan Lake to Hansika

Seema Sachdeva

Tchaikowski’s 19th century ballet Swan Lake, based on the timeless love story between Prince Siegfried and Odette, who was turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer, remains one of the most endearing tributes to the Russian dance form. The classic tale of love, deception and betrayal has seen numerous renderings, and yet the story seems to come out beautifully in all its variations. In a first of its kind, Odissi exponent Sharmila Mukerjee adapts the classic western ballet into Odissi. With 22 dancers from her dance troupe Sanjali, she brings forth Hansika.

Sharmila, who has been instrumental in bringing Odissi to the forefront of the performing arts scene in Bengaluru, learnt the traditional Indian dance form under the tutelage of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She was fascinated by ballet when she first learnt it at the age of seven. Decades later, she has given the Russian classic story a desi flavour. Says the Odissi exponent, “In Hansika, I tried to capture the essence of ballet while interpreting it in Indian context.”  

From its setting to costumes to accessories to music, everything about Hansika is Indian. “I have not used the original track since I wanted people here to relate to it. The ballroom scene, for instance, in its Indianised version comes in the form of a  wedding scene. The music, too, is purely Indian. The use of instruments like sitar, tabla, flute, pakhawaj, besides keyboard and violin, have added to Indianisation of the western classic,” says Sharmila.

About bringing home the ballet and libretto to our world of ragas, taal, laya and rasas, she says, “The Russian ballet and Odissi are similar in many ways. Both dance movements are fluidic and have graceful movements. Ballet is essentially performed on toes. Likewise, there is lot of emphasis on foot movement in Odissi. The story of Swan Lake is very dramatic. Emotions like love, anger and jealousy come together on stage to create a masterpiece. In Odissi too, expressions play a vital role. I took the story from the western milieu and put it here.”

The interpretation has been well received in a number of cities across the country. The dance drama, which was recently held in Delhi, will have its international presentation in Poland May next year. The response on social media, too, has been heartening, she says. “Social media is all about visuals. Dance drama is visually appealing. The younger generation is open to such experiments.”

Besides her dance performances, Sharmila has also been involved in choreographing workshops for the hearing impaired. She has taught dance to children at the Oral School for Deaf Children in Kolkata and Sheila Kothwala Institute for Deaf in Bengaluru. About how she is able to explain the nuances of dance to the hearing impaired, she says, “It is initially very challenging to teach them. To familiarise them with the rhythm, the children are asked to put their ears to the ground to understand the vibrations. Once they get the hang of it, they are able to mimic the movements easily. The end result is satisfying, especially when you see those children gleaming with joy.”