In its second edition, Impressions is a dance drama by students which portrays a theme with a deeper meaning and message. The dance drama will comprise of two centre pieces; Five Elements of our Being and Revive. Vivek Bhaduri who is one of the choreographers of this dance drama speaks about the two sequences, “Five Elements will focus on the five elements — air, soil, water, fire and space. It will show the distinguished characters of each element through contemporary abstract dance. While Revive is a dance drama based on Cancer. The sequence starts with a boy and girl who are in love. They get married, and have a child. But tragedy strikes when the mother gets Cancer and passes away. The father has to deal with the harsh reality of his daughter also having the disease.” Every other family these days has atleast one person who has been affected by this disease. They plan to show two sides where the mother gives up and dies while the daughter fights and beats cancer. Why were two very different and strong themes chosen? Vivek answers, “We wanted a theme the audience can relate to. We also wanted people to carry a strong message back.” Along with abstract contemporary dance, this show also includes Indo-contemporary, hip-hop, freestyle, jazz, ballet, a bit of gymnastics and artistic yoga.
Playing the reflection of the cancer patient in Revive, Thejaswini Balaji feels the dance drama is very relatable. She says, “I will be emoting the reflection of each emotion the Cancer patient undergoes, how she feels about these physical changes, which I will portray through contemporary and Broadway inspirations. I am able to connect with this emotionally as a friend and a family member went through the same. Our aim is to show that if one is brave and strong, you can overcome cancer.” Aruna Lawrence who will be doing an all-style performance will be a part of the Five Elements. She says, “The element that my team and I will be focusing on will be water. We will show how life flows like water with its many ups and downs. Each of the elements will be portrayed either as a natural element, or a human physical element or how its related to the soul.” Velu Kumar will be choreographing, dancing as well as hosting the show. He says, “Fire is about aggression. One of the elements in dance comes where aggression is shown as part of a story. We will be doing a lot of hip-hop to represent fire.
— The show will be held on December 2 at MLR Convention Centre, Whitefield.
