Chicago's Natya Dance Theatre will be suspended between two worlds: traditional classical Indian dance and the Westernized Bollywood craze when it performs Rhythms of Rahman at the Harold Washington Library on Sept. 12. The concert honors A.R. Rahman, composer of the Academy Award-winning Slumdog Millionaire and other acclaimed Indian films, as well as the hit musical, Bombay Dreams. Natya Dance Theatre is clearly based in the ancient spiritual dance form of southern India known as Bharata Natyam. But the company also will incorporate some modest Bollywood gyrations and the Punjabi folk dance of Bhangra, along with African, hip-hop and jazz styles. All reflect the world flavor of Rahman's music and will be matched with dances that convey themes of love, emancipation and unity from the Indian films on which the composer has collaborated. Artistic director Hema Rajagopalan is overseeing the dances that were choreographed by members of her long-established ensemble. She says that although Bollywood is not a style her group typically performs, she believes that the flexible dance form of Bharata Natyam can adapt to contemporary times and create a jubilant energy through intensely rhythmic footwork and expressive, layered gestures. Concert highlights include Kwaja Meri Kwaja from the film Jodhaa Akbar, set during the ornate Islamic Sufi period and featuring ritualistic knee-bending and Sufi twirls; a gentle Bharata Natyam duet between a mother and the son she lost from the movie Rang De Basanti; and the rousing Bollywood anthem Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire.
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