| Maker | Poernima Gobardhan |
| Duration | 60 min |
| Part of | India Dance Festival |
There is a vibrant scene for Indian dance in The Hague. Poernima Gobardhan is firmly rooted in that scene and one of the great talents of Indian dance in the Netherlands. A creative jack-of-all-trades, Poernima Gobardhan leaves no opportunity unused to highlight Indian dance in general and her vision of it in particular.
‘It moves, it is motionless. It is distant, it is near. It is within all, it is without all this.’ - Isha Upanishad
In STRĪ (lit. woman), choreographer Poernima Gobardhan shares an indescribable woman with you. The only way to describe the woman is to name what the woman is not. She is soundless, senseless, formless, odourless, boundless and, above all, infinite. Would you like to meet her?
With Bharata Natyam as a starting point, Gobardhan enables you to enter into this encounter with her dancers. A dance performance with an impressive soundscape, penetrating movements and an exceptional interplay between space and dancers.
In her work, she connects age-old stories, subjects and concepts from classical Indian literature to her own experiences with integrity and thoughtfulness, so that even today her choreographies do not miss their impact with a wide audience of dance lovers.
Her great strength? That she has developed Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form, into something of our time. How she does that? By transforming this form into the expressiveness of her own body. She draws on the hand gestures and stories of the classical form that tell of heroes and Gods. But she, as a modern Dutch woman with Hindustani roots, juxtaposes her individual drives and life questions.
In this way, she developed an aesthetic, emotionally layered and dynamic movement language of her own. She attended specific bharatanatyam training courses in both the Netherlands and India and obtained a Master's degree in Theatre Studies. By merging her seasoned experience with the narrative dance style and her open, inquisitive gaze, the maker finds the freedom to share her view of the world.
Friday 24 May
Visit two performances on one evening during India Dance Festival!
With this combi ticket, you recieve a €12 discount when you attend the performances below:
Strī - Poernima Gobardhan | Fri May 24 - 19:00
Fires of Varanasi: Dance of the Eternal Pilgrim | Fri May 24 - 20:30
"'The Western image of Indian dance stems too much from colonial relations and the idea of the exotic. What I do is about universal themes. I just make dance. In my own way.'"
— Poernima Gobardhan
Open rehearsals in Amare
Watch, talk and participate in the rehearsals led by choreographer Poernima Gobardhan
On May 3, 4 and 5, choreographer Poernima Gobardhan and her dancers will open the rehearsals for the brand new dance production STRĪ to the public. During these days you can simply watch the movement research. But there are also moments when Poernima would like to talk to you about what you see and experience.
Are you curious how the investigation unfolds?
Watch on May 3, 4 and 5 from 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Talk and participate on May 3 and 4 from 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
A small research presentation will take place on May 5 at 1:30 PM.
The rehearsals take place in front of the stairs.
Korzo Studio