Unfettered Mind – With students of Trinity Laban BA2, Repertory Project-Dance Legends 2022

 

The Story

In 2018, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance invited us to take part in their BA2 Historical Project, in which Protima Chatterjee, along with Tanusree Shankar led and delivered a six-week intensive programme on Uday Shankar technique. The students learned the Shankar Technique and the repertory ‘Sacred Myths’  which included a section of reimagining Uday Shankar's original choreography Kartikeya. Taking inspiration from this mythological piece a full choreography was developed adding new music and movement. This new piece Sacred Myths was performed in four public performances at the end of the project. In May 2022, we were very kindly invited back by Trinity Laban to teach the same module to the BA2 batch. This time we worked on a new choreographic piece inspired by ‘Man and Machine’ originally composed by Uday Shankar in the 1940s. With the addition of new choreography and music sections, our restaging of the piece titled 'Unfettered Mind' has a contemporary interpretation of the theme.  It is a metaphor for breaking out of the pre-conditioned shackles of the mind to find our inner light and feel the oneness with the universe,

About 'Unfettered Mind'

This dance draws its inspiration from a short piece ‘Man and Machine’ originally composed by Uday Shankar in the 1940s which has pride of place in his film “Kalpana”. Uday Shankar created this composition reflecting the challenges of industrialisation and transition from an agricultural to an industrialised society. Our restaging of Man and Machine comes with a contemporary interpretation of the theme- a metaphor for breaking out of the pre-conditioned shackles of the mind to find our inner light and feel the oneness with the universe. The underlying message cannot be more relevant than today. We have further elaborated on this theme through addition of new choreographic sections. In these sections the dancers overcome odds to break out of their machine shells, at ease with the natural world followed by a fluid and graceful dance piece reflecting the beauty of life as it should be. They find peace amongst nature and rediscover their inner selves leading into a dance of celebration, ending the piece on a positive note of hope. Music-Vishnu Das Shirali (original music of Man and Machine from Uday Shankar’s film Kalpana) and Ananda Shankar. Technique classes -Protima Chatterjee and repertory rehearsals – Tanusree Shankar, Protima Chatterjee Concept and Curation – Protima Chatterjee, Abundant Art UK

Technique Classes and Repertory Rehearsals

Unfettered Mind - Performance, Laban Theatre 30 June 2022

Student Feedback

About the program - Trinity Laban BA2, Repertory Project-Dance Legends

In this program, each Year 2 students on the BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance programme is immersed in an intensive period of dance training and study which focuses on work created by a choreographer who has made an important contribution to the development of dance in the 20th and 21st centuries. As well as being involved in the restaging of the choreography, students learn about the historical, social, artistic and cultural contexts in which the work was originally created. In addition, students participate in technique classes and theory classes which are designed to equip them with the technical skills and artistic understanding necessary to meet the demands of the piece. The result is a learning experience which integrates theory and practice, and which exposes students both physically and intellectually to dance works of historical and cultural significance. The Historical Project component at trinity Laban introduces their BA2 students to some of the well-known and established repertoire from the 20th century modern/contemporary dance. In this programme students gain a direct and practical experience of selected choreographer’s work through intensive rehearsals and performance of repertory extracts. The rehearsal directors teach the material to the group, decide the casting and coach students towards the performance. With organised technical rehearsals in the Laban Theatre students showcase the repertory piece they learn over the course of 4 weeks in 4 public performances across two days. The performance of the repertory is the final assessment of the practical aspect of this component. During this period, theoretical sessions are provided with contextual and conceptual background necessary for an integrated understanding of the choreographer and work they are studying. As part of this learning process students are encouraged to reflect on their own experience of the historical repertory, and the ways it contributes to their understanding of the work and its historical and contemporary significance. Material covered in Investigating Arts Practice also support their work in this aspect of the component. Individual Lecture Demonstrations after the performance is the assessment for this aspect of the component. Baixar Torrent Crackedao

Social Links

Learn more about our herritage project here!

X