A career spanning over 50 years, collaborations with world-famous legends like Pink Floyd, performances in over 70 countries and a Padma Shri — these are laurels that Astad Deboo refuses to sit upon.
A pioneer of Indian contemporary dance, Astad has crossed several milestones in his career and still continues to stun audiences with his grace and expressiveness.
Having recently performed his first solo in over 10 years in Bengaluru at The Collection, UB City, Astad's 'Eternal Embrace', composed in collaboration with Japanese musician Yukio Tsuji, explored the tension between the ephemeral and material worlds.
The piece, when performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, received a standing ovation, with Astad being touted as 'a dancing monk'. He spoke to Rajitha Menon about his life on and off stage.
How would you describe your dance?
My dance is movement, my dance is feeling, my dance is passion, my dance is life.
You started learning dance at the age of six at a time when this was considered a taboo for boys. What were the challenges you faced?
I was blessed to have wonderful parents who sent me to dance school to study. Even before that, I really did not encounter any sort of teasing from my school mates. They took pride in my talent and whenever there was any function, in school and in college, I was always there to perform. Even if some people made negative comments, I paid no heed to them.
You have worked with different forms of dance...
I haven't worked with different forms of dance. I studied a few forms, primarily kathak and kathakali, and overseas I have taken classes to see what would complement my body. In that way, I became aware of my body in its totality.
What are some of the things that dance has taught you?
It has taught me discipline, perseverance, hard work and standing by what you create.
Out of the many performances, which is the one that is closest to your heart?
Each creation is close to one's heart. It is like the birth of a child. You are spending time on it, thinking about it... The challenges make each project interesting.
For example, I have involved people from various disciplines who have a very different style of movement. Like the martial artistes or the 'Pung cholom' drummers of Manipur. In the performance, their tools, like drums or swords, were removed, but they were asked to move in the same way by imagining the thing in their hands.
One theme that you would like to explore?
I think I have covered quite a bit in the last 47 years of choreography.
After this tour is over, I am starting a new project with the Korean drummers, mridangam players, Indian flautists and so on. Let's see what will come out of it.
An artiste that you would like to collaborate with?
I would like to collaborate with Bahauddin Dagar, the rudra veena player. And maybe the Butoh Dance Company in Japan. In fact, I would love to collaborate with anyone who provides me with an expense account that allows me to fantasise my creation
(smiles).
There are people who say that classical dances, especially Indian, should not be experimented with; to retain the purity. What do you have to say to them?
Tradition has always been evolving and changing. For example, a lot of classical dancers like Malavika Sarukkai have been using themes like environment, poetry; topics not necessarily related with mythology.
So it is an individual choice, whether they would like to explore. And now, even the cultural power brokers don't have much of an objection to this.
Thoughts about Indian contemporary dance?
There are very few performers across the country whose work I would put under this umbrella. Every second dancer says I am doing contemporary. But what is it? They haven't studied. And a lot of the modern dance is in the genre of entertainment. But just movement is not dance. I feel dance is serious work.
How feasible is dance as a career?
There are various categories in dance. Contemporary dance — very difficult. Bollywood dancing, performing at award nights — they are able to sustain themselves for quite a few years but I don't know where their career goes after that. It all depends on the art form one chooses.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
A career spanning over 50 years, collaborations with world-famous legends like Pink Floyd, performances in over 70 countries and a Padma Shri — these are laurels that Astad Deboo refuses to sit upon.
A pioneer of Indian contemporary dance, Astad has crossed several milestones in his career and still continues to stun audiences with his grace and expressiveness.
Having recently performed his first solo in over 10 years in Bengaluru at The Collection, UB City, Astad’s 'Eternal Embrace’, composed in collaboration with Japanese musician Yukio Tsuji, explored the tension between the ephemeral and material worlds.
The piece, when performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, received a standing ovation, with Astad being touted as 'a dancing monk’. He spoke to Rajitha Menon about his life on and off stage.
How would you describe your dance?
My dance is movement, my dance is feeling, my dance is passion, my dance is life.
You started learning dance at the age of six at a time when this was considered a taboo for boys. What were the challenges you faced?
I was blessed to have wonderful parents who sent me to dance school to study. Even before that, I really did not encounter any sort of teasing from my school mates. They took pride in my talent and whenever there was any function, in school and in college, I was always there to perform. Even if some people made negative comments, I paid no heed to them.
You have worked with different forms of dance...
I haven’t worked with different forms of dance. I studied a few forms, primarily kathak and kathakali, and overseas I have taken classes to see what would complement my body. In that way, I became aware of my body in its totality.
What are some of the things that dance has taught you?
It has taught me discipline, perseverance, hard work and standing by what you create.
Out of the many performances, which is the one that is closest to your heart?
Each creation is close to one’s heart. It is like the birth of a child. You are spending time on it, thinking about it... The challenges make each project interesting.
For example, I have involved people from various disciplines who have a very different style of movement. Like the martial artistes or the 'Pung cholom’ drummers of Manipur. In the performance, their tools, like drums or swords, were removed, but they were asked to move in the same way by imagining the thing in their hands.
One theme that you would like to explore?
I think I have covered quite a bit in the last 47 years of choreography.
After this tour is over, I am starting a new project with the Korean drummers, mridangam players, Indian flautists and so on. Let’s see what will come out of it.
An artiste that you would like to collaborate with?
I would like to collaborate with Bahauddin Dagar, the rudra veena player. And maybe the Butoh Dance Company in Japan. In fact, I would love to collaborate with anyone who provides me with an expense account that allows me to fantasise my creation
(smiles).
There are people who say that classical dances, especially Indian, should not be experimented with; to retain the purity. What do you have to say to them?
Tradition has always been evolving and changing. For example, a lot of classical dancers like Malavika Sarukkai have been using themes like environment, poetry; topics not necessarily related with mythology.
So it is an individual choice, whether they would like to explore. And now, even the cultural power brokers don’t have much of an objection to this.
Thoughts about Indian contemporary dance?
There are very few performers across the country whose work I would put under this umbrella. Every second dancer says I am doing contemporary. But what is it? They haven’t studied. And a lot of the modern dance is in the genre of entertainment. But just movement is not dance. I feel dance is serious work.
How feasible is dance as a career?
There are various categories in dance. Contemporary dance — very difficult. Bollywood dancing, performing at award nights — they are able to sustain themselves for quite a few years but I don’t know where their career goes after that. It all depends on the art form one chooses.
A pioneer of Indian contemporary dance, Astad has crossed several milestones in his career and still continues to stun audiences with his grace and expressiveness.
Having recently performed his first solo in over 10 years in Bengaluru at The Collection, UB City, Astad's 'Eternal Embrace', composed in collaboration with Japanese musician Yukio Tsuji, explored the tension between the ephemeral and material worlds.
The piece, when performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, received a standing ovation, with Astad being touted as 'a dancing monk'. He spoke to Rajitha Menon about his life on and off stage.
How would you describe your dance?
My dance is movement, my dance is feeling, my dance is passion, my dance is life.
You started learning dance at the age of six at a time when this was considered a taboo for boys. What were the challenges you faced?
I was blessed to have wonderful parents who sent me to dance school to study. Even before that, I really did not encounter any sort of teasing from my school mates. They took pride in my talent and whenever there was any function, in school and in college, I was always there to perform. Even if some people made negative comments, I paid no heed to them.
You have worked with different forms of dance...
I haven't worked with different forms of dance. I studied a few forms, primarily kathak and kathakali, and overseas I have taken classes to see what would complement my body. In that way, I became aware of my body in its totality.
What are some of the things that dance has taught you?
It has taught me discipline, perseverance, hard work and standing by what you create.
Out of the many performances, which is the one that is closest to your heart?
Each creation is close to one's heart. It is like the birth of a child. You are spending time on it, thinking about it... The challenges make each project interesting.
For example, I have involved people from various disciplines who have a very different style of movement. Like the martial artistes or the 'Pung cholom' drummers of Manipur. In the performance, their tools, like drums or swords, were removed, but they were asked to move in the same way by imagining the thing in their hands.
One theme that you would like to explore?
I think I have covered quite a bit in the last 47 years of choreography.
After this tour is over, I am starting a new project with the Korean drummers, mridangam players, Indian flautists and so on. Let's see what will come out of it.
An artiste that you would like to collaborate with?
I would like to collaborate with Bahauddin Dagar, the rudra veena player. And maybe the Butoh Dance Company in Japan. In fact, I would love to collaborate with anyone who provides me with an expense account that allows me to fantasise my creation
(smiles).
There are people who say that classical dances, especially Indian, should not be experimented with; to retain the purity. What do you have to say to them?
Tradition has always been evolving and changing. For example, a lot of classical dancers like Malavika Sarukkai have been using themes like environment, poetry; topics not necessarily related with mythology.
So it is an individual choice, whether they would like to explore. And now, even the cultural power brokers don't have much of an objection to this.
Thoughts about Indian contemporary dance?
There are very few performers across the country whose work I would put under this umbrella. Every second dancer says I am doing contemporary. But what is it? They haven't studied. And a lot of the modern dance is in the genre of entertainment. But just movement is not dance. I feel dance is serious work.
How feasible is dance as a career?
There are various categories in dance. Contemporary dance — very difficult. Bollywood dancing, performing at award nights — they are able to sustain themselves for quite a few years but I don't know where their career goes after that. It all depends on the art form one chooses.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
A career spanning over 50 years, collaborations with world-famous legends like Pink Floyd, performances in over 70 countries and a Padma Shri — these are laurels that Astad Deboo refuses to sit upon. A pioneer of Indian contemporary dance, Astad has crossed several milestones in his career and still continues to stun audiences with his grace and expressiveness.
Having recently performed his first solo in over 10 years in Bengaluru at The Collection, UB City, Astad’s 'Eternal Embrace’, composed in collaboration with Japanese musician Yukio Tsuji, explored the tension between the ephemeral and material worlds.
The piece, when performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, received a standing ovation, with Astad being touted as 'a dancing monk’. He spoke to Rajitha Menon about his life on and off stage.
How would you describe your dance?
My dance is movement, my dance is feeling, my dance is passion, my dance is life.
You started learning dance at the age of six at a time when this was considered a taboo for boys. What were the challenges you faced?
I was blessed to have wonderful parents who sent me to dance school to study. Even before that, I really did not encounter any sort of teasing from my school mates. They took pride in my talent and whenever there was any function, in school and in college, I was always there to perform. Even if some people made negative comments, I paid no heed to them.
You have worked with different forms of dance...
I haven’t worked with different forms of dance. I studied a few forms, primarily kathak and kathakali, and overseas I have taken classes to see what would complement my body. In that way, I became aware of my body in its totality.
What are some of the things that dance has taught you?
It has taught me discipline, perseverance, hard work and standing by what you create.
Out of the many performances, which is the one that is closest to your heart?
Each creation is close to one’s heart. It is like the birth of a child. You are spending time on it, thinking about it... The challenges make each project interesting.
For example, I have involved people from various disciplines who have a very different style of movement. Like the martial artistes or the 'Pung cholom’ drummers of Manipur. In the performance, their tools, like drums or swords, were removed, but they were asked to move in the same way by imagining the thing in their hands.
One theme that you would like to explore?
I think I have covered quite a bit in the last 47 years of choreography.
After this tour is over, I am starting a new project with the Korean drummers, mridangam players, Indian flautists and so on. Let’s see what will come out of it.
An artiste that you would like to collaborate with?
I would like to collaborate with Bahauddin Dagar, the rudra veena player. And maybe the Butoh Dance Company in Japan. In fact, I would love to collaborate with anyone who provides me with an expense account that allows me to fantasise my creation
(smiles).
There are people who say that classical dances, especially Indian, should not be experimented with; to retain the purity. What do you have to say to them?
Tradition has always been evolving and changing. For example, a lot of classical dancers like Malavika Sarukkai have been using themes like environment, poetry; topics not necessarily related with mythology.
So it is an individual choice, whether they would like to explore. And now, even the cultural power brokers don’t have much of an objection to this.
Thoughts about Indian contemporary dance?
There are very few performers across the country whose work I would put under this umbrella. Every second dancer says I am doing contemporary. But what is it? They haven’t studied. And a lot of the modern dance is in the genre of entertainment. But just movement is not dance. I feel dance is serious work.
How feasible is dance as a career?
There are various categories in dance. Contemporary dance — very difficult. Bollywood dancing, performing at award nights — they are able to sustain themselves for quite a few years but I don’t know where their career goes after that. It all depends on the art form one chooses.