TARU

MetLiveArts - Residency Site I I (2022)

Taru was one of four site-specific works created as part of the MetLiveArts 2021-2022 Artist in Residence program.
The Islamic Wing - Spanish Ceiling (16th/17th century style)

Taru is Sanskrit for tree. Inspired by non-figurative ornamentation and the interlacing of simple geometrical patterns in Islamic art, this performance is an abstract exploration of the body as it creates and becomes design in space. The piece is set to a tarana—a musical pattern from the north Indian Hindustani style of music that is highly influenced by Persian music traditions.

SimA - Thresholds
(A series of four original, site-specific works at the Met Museum.)

Odissi is at once traditional and modern. Rooted in the cultural habitat of the eastern Indian state of Odisha, Odissi today has been recreated for proscenium spaces, moving away from the temple sanctums, royal courts, village squares, and entertainment salons in which it was once performed. Contemporary Odissi practitioners at best share fractured connections with the form’s cultural origins. This lands Odissi at a crucial historical threshold, between its traditionally coded structures and the myriad possibilities beyond them. Inspired by four iconic galleries and the art within them at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Satpathy expands Odissi from this threshold through dance interventions: she engages with each site’s architecture, ancestry, stories, legends, and aesthetics.

This residency through MetLiveArts allowed Satpathy to explore deep scholarly and musical connections as well. Beyond Odissi’s complex body language, Satpathy draws from charis, a movement pedagogy derived from the Sanskrit dramatic treatise Natyashastra (200 BCE – 200 CE).  Working with Irene Dowd she explored the anatomical basis of Natyashastra’s prescribed scriptural movements, threading them through Odissi’s more regional vocabularies.  With composer Bindhumalini Narayanswamy, who has decidedly moved the soundscape away from traditional Odissi music into unconventional spaces, she exposed the sentimentality embedded in each of the four sites, incorporating melodic textures from other cultures outside India.

MUSIC CREDITS

Vocals -  Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy
Producer and Arranging - M.S. Krsna, Chennai
Oudh and Classical Guitar- Neil Mukherjee, Mumbai
Classical Guitar - M.S. Krsna
Strings - Rithu Vysak, Trivandrum
Bindhumalini Vocals recorded at Studio 304 , Bangalore
Additional Support - Sridhar Varadarajan
Mixing and Mastering - Protyay Chakraborty, Ahmedabad

CREDITS

Bijayini Satpathy- Choreographer & Performer
Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy- Composer
Poorna Swamy - Dramaturgy 
Irene Dowd - Anatomy Research Guide
Brigitte Singh - Costume Advisor
Niti Bagchi - Greek Literature Advice
Claudia Norman - Manager and Producer
Masoom Parmar - India Coordinator and Costume Production Assistance
Accommodations for Satpathy were graciously provided by Tracy Strauss.

This presentation sincerely acknowledges and marks my gratitude to the Mahari temple dancers and young Gotipua dancers of Odisha, whose contributions have made Odissi as loved and rich as it is today.

Photo credit: Stephanie Berger
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