MUMBAI: Renowned contemporary dance company Nritarutya and global music phenomenon Raghu Dixit are off to London to see The Queen. The artists have been invited to perform at the very special pageant to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen of England at Windsor Castle in England on the 13th of May 2012.
The artists have been working hard to curate a spectacular music and dance performance representing India at the Diamond Jubilee Pageant. The performance will feature Raghu Dixit singing his popular track ‘Mysore Se Ayi’ from his eponymous debut album backed by a 70-piece orchestra along with twelve dancers from Nritarutya and over 550 of The Queen’s horses.
Mayuri Upadhya from Nritarutya has choreographed the dance sequences for the performance. The musicality and motif of the song have dictated the choreography and it is naughty, light, energetic and vibrant in spirit. Raghu Dixit remains at the centre of the piece throughout with the dance choreography woven around the musician. Says choreographer Mayuri Upadhya, “In terms of dance vocabulary it is spatially dynamic, very circular with Indian rhythms, classical articulations on folk movements and emotive in expression.”
Mayuri has also conceptualized special puppets to complement the dancers and add vibrance to the overall act. India has long used puppets in order to tell a tale, and the puppets help bring out the flirtatiousness of the Mysore girl and her beguiling beauty. The puppets are inspired from both Rajasthan and Karnataka's Channapatna Gombe puppets that are used in theatre and dance narratives in India. Once decorated, they add a cultural, geographical, Indian aesthetic as well as an artistic sensibility to the act. The puppets are dressed in the traditional clothing of Raghu’s hometown Mysore. “The costumes for the puppets were actually inspired by colourful lungis Raghu wears on stage while performing! As the dancers perform, the puppets come alive and help tell the narrative of the girl from Mysore” says Mayuri Upadhya.
Acclaimed designer James Ferreira has created the costumes for the performance. The costumes are inspired by both the north and south of India. They’re a combination of a beautiful chholis for the girls with Kutch embroidery and dhoti-inspired pants. The costumes are in red and orange which are bright and also very Indian. Says Mayuri Upadhya, "The song itself has both a Rajasthani and a South Indian element so the costumes were designed to complement the song and the styling also incorporates that blend." James Ferreira has added gorgeous decorative embellishments like armlets and anklets similar to those used in Indian classical dance, and they add a majestic, dramatic element to the costumes.
With the final performance only days away, both Raghu Dixit and the dancers from Nritarutya are working hard to ensure that they’ll have The Queen dancing along to ‘Mysore Se Ayi’.
MUMBAI: Renowned contemporary dance company Nritarutya and global music phenomenon Raghu Dixit are off to London to see The Queen. The artists have been invited to perform at the very special pageant to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen of England at Windsor Castle in England on the 13th of May 2012.
The artists have been working hard to curate a spectacular music and dance performance representing India at the Diamond Jubilee Pageant. The performance will feature Raghu Dixit singing his popular track ‘Mysore Se Ayi’ from his eponymous debut album backed by a 70-piece orchestra along with twelve dancers from Nritarutya and over 550 of The Queen’s horses.
Mayuri Upadhya from Nritarutya has choreographed the dance sequences for the performance. The musicality and motif of the song have dictated the choreography and it is naughty, light, energetic and vibrant in spirit. Raghu Dixit remains at the centre of the piece throughout with the dance choreography woven around the musician. Says choreographer Mayuri Upadhya, “In terms of dance vocabulary it is spatially dynamic, very circular with Indian rhythms, classical articulations on folk movements and emotive in expression.”
Mayuri has also conceptualized special puppets to complement the dancers and add vibrance to the overall act. India has long used puppets in order to tell a tale, and the puppets help bring out the flirtatiousness of the Mysore girl and her beguiling beauty. The puppets are inspired from both Rajasthan and Karnataka's Channapatna Gombe puppets that are used in theatre and dance narratives in India. Once decorated, they add a cultural, geographical, Indian aesthetic as well as an artistic sensibility to the act. The puppets are dressed in the traditional clothing of Raghu’s hometown Mysore. “The costumes for the puppets were actually inspired by colourful lungis Raghu wears on stage while performing! As the dancers perform, the puppets come alive and help tell the narrative of the girl from Mysore” says Mayuri Upadhya.
Acclaimed designer James Ferreira has created the costumes for the performance. The costumes are inspired by both the north and south of India. They’re a combination of a beautiful chholis for the girls with Kutch embroidery and dhoti-inspired pants. The costumes are in red and orange which are bright and also very Indian. Says Mayuri Upadhya, "The song itself has both a Rajasthani and a South Indian element so the costumes were
designed to complement the song and the styling also incorporates that blend." James Ferreira has added gorgeous decorative embellishments like armlets and anklets similar to those used in Indian classical dance, and they add a majestic, dramatic element to the costumes.
With the final performance only days away, both Raghu Dixit and the dancers from Nritarutya are working hard to ensure that they’ll have The Queen dancing along to ‘Mysore Se Ayi’.
