Two Kathak-based performance will be presented by classical danseuse Aditi Mangaldas and her dance company — The Drishtikon Dance Foundation at the XV Chekhov International Theatre Festival 2021, Moscow, next week. Titled ‘Life’, this presentation from India will take place at Russia’s Mossovet Theatre.

“March 7, 2020 is etched in my memory. It was my last live performance before the pandemic swept the world. That had been a magical evening at Orchha! The stage, suspended on a flowing river and ensconced within ancient monuments looming into the dark sky, mistakenly reassured us of continuity.”

Adding, “after months, we are now once again on the brink of live performances. Honoured and excited to be performing LIFE at the XV Chekhov International Theatre Festival 2021, Moscow, on the invitation by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Department of Culture, the City of Moscow. With this sense of vulnerability and yet an inner strength and immersion in dance, my dance company and I venture into a world known… yet unknown, writes Aditi Mangaldas.

The performance ‘Life Celebrated — Uncharted Seas’ captures the essence and search for that which cannot easily be given a name and seeks the essence of life, which is so fragile and yet such a wondrous gift. Standing alone; looking out at the distant stars; feeling our heart beating within us; life being celebrated around us, have we not wondered, what is it all about? What is life? What lies beyond the realms of the known? What lies beyond what our mind can perceive? What lies hidden in the deep recesses of our heart?

It explores the meaning of life in all its magnificence.

On ‘Life Interrupted’, a contemporary dance based on Kathak, they say: “We have always believed that life is a continuous flow. But the current pandemic has made us confront the fact that we were mistaken, and that life is constantly and ever being interrupted. These interruptions appear like a dam on a flowing river, that has suddenly appeared out of nowhere.”

Life Interrupted will be presented in two parts: Broken and Parallel Journeys.