Papia Chakraborty and her dance explorations
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Papia Chakraborty is an independent contemporary dancer from Kolkata. She trained for 15 years learning Kathak, first from Mitul Sengupta and later from Rajendra Gangani. Wanting to explore movements without a boundary, Papia switched to contemporary dance a few years ago. It is these experimental creations and movements, that pushed her to collaborate with Surendra Tekale from Bengaluru. Now the duo will present Metamorphosis, a contemporary duet dance presentation this weekend in our city.
Though Papia lives in Kolkata, she has performed in Bengaluru many times. “Metamorphosis is my first full-length collaborative work in Bengaluru,” says the dancer, amidst dance rehearsals from her studio Kolkata.
Papia conceptualised the dance. “I co-choreographed it with Surendra. While I come purely from a dance background, he comes with a background in theatre and modern dance. Our body of work is different, yet we have blended our thoughts and perspectives to create Metamorphosis,” says Papia, who has a diploma in Movement Art from Rhythmosaic Dance Institute, Kolkata and has done a certified course in choreographic approach from Gati Dance Forum, New Delhi.
“My choreographies are inspired by my immediate surroundings and addresses the issues of gender identity, human emotions and climate change crisis. These are the very issues I try to address through my choreographies,” says the full-time dancer who adds that she draws inspiration from surrounding behavioral patterns, martial arts and sports activities.
Papia
Talking about Metamorphosis, Papia says, “It looks closely into what happens when one goes through the process of transformation. For instance, what does a caterpillar go through on its journey from the cocoon phase to being a butterfly? The dance also seeks answers to who the person really is. Is it their emotions, personal beliefs, values, hormonal urges, kinks, likes and dislikes and language that make the person unique? Or is it solely defined by social standards imposed upon them?”
It is about the transition from one form to another, Papia says. “What is the process that we go through bodily. This is a non-verbal presentation, where we work with varied patterns that are created with movement. These patterns show that there is a formula in society that we mindlessly and thoughtlessly follow sometimes.”
At some point, Papia says someone thinks of breaking this monotony. “They think about the purpose or meaning of what they are doing. The going from known to unknown patterns, is what triggered the movement for Metamorphosis. The dance loop is left open rather than the dancers narrating a story with a story that has an end.”
Metamorphosis is at Shoonya on January 28, at 6.30pm. Tickets are on Insider and Shoonya’s homepage.
