Dancing to their heartbeat

Ashley Lobo at a rehearsal in Andheri over the weekend. Pics/ Ashish Raje

While many feel that art needs to affect society, for Ashley Lobo it's about establishing a connection with one's being, "about individuals realising who they are, their existence or their purpose." It is this belief that will reflect in a western contemporary dance showcase titled Confluence this week, where Lobo comes together with New York-based dancer Valerie Green.

Choreographing dance recitals with talent from city-based Navdhara India Dance Theatre (NIDT), founded by Lobo, Green and he will delve deep into what it means to be human. The showcase will also see works by three emerging choreographers from NIDT: Veronica Jose, Chetan Solanki and Razul Singh.

Lobo will present two sets titled Loop and Together - both preparatory pieces to a larger piece called Om-1. While the first one depicts a segment of life which plays on loop, the other is about two individuals who meet in a surreal space - "they are connected to each other but never look at each other, and yet you sense a deep relationship between them," he shares, adding that there's an overarching theme of inclusion at a time when the world is becoming insular. "Even diseases are causing insulation now," he comments.

Valerie Green at a rehearsal in Andheri over the weekend

Green flew to India earlier this month after Lobo had performed a 20-minute piece for her company in New York in the first half of February as part of her project titled Home. It's her first trip to Mumbai and she's just getting used to the busy city. Initially called The War Within, the title of her piece is now The Space Between. Hoping to expose Indian audiences to a new perspective of modern dance, Green says the piece explores "the time between breaths, the time between what is in the unknown and the precariousness in it, it's risk, resistance, boundaries. The dance is an invocation and a journey to find one's freedom."

On March 13, 8 pm onwards
At G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture, Laxmi Mills Estate, Mahalaxmi.
Log on to bookmyshow.com
Cost Rs 750

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