Chandralekha ,DANCER BORN DECEMBER 6,1928

Chandralekha ,DANCER BORN 

DECEMBER 6,1928

Chandralekha lived and died for art. She was a choreographer and dancer, sometimes philosophical and contemplative. She was an arts visionary behind the creative place architected for the use of artists, dancers and performers. This place is most aptly called “Spaces”. It is an assembly of bricked walls with thatched roofs that provide space for creativity and performance. Spaces is located at the Elliot’s beach in Chennai, it’s largely an open space and imparts a beautiful view of the skies.
Chandralekha’s last choreographic production ‘Sharira’ (Body) was performed at the Spaces on 3rd September. Come 7 p.m. and the place was full with an avid audience looking forward for an hour of mesmerizing performance by Tishani Doshi and Shaji John.
The invitation letter to the performance informed:

“’Sharira’ is the concluding part of the trilogy of works by Chandralekha, which includes ‘Raga’ [1998] and ‘Sloka’ [1999]. The three productions explore sexuality and erotica in the body through a feminization of the discourse – examining the processes of femininity in men, in women and in conditions of mutuality. In each of these contexts, she expressed the primacy of the female principle.
‘Sharira’ is about the profound and invisible female energies that can activate our outer and inner selves. It explores the body as a transformative field for the ascending feminine force, to evoke the condition within which the ‘self’ can experience the world. It celebrates the living body in which sexuality, sensuality and spirituality co-exist – acknowledging no limits, borders, boundaries.”
n one of the instances during the performance Tishani Doshi takes her face in her hands and pulls it so that her eyes are magnified. It was one of the intense scenes in the dance where the female spirit seemed it wanted to break free of its binds. During another moment Shaji picks Tishani by her legs, her knees curl around his shoulder and her feet goes behind and she holds Shaji just above his ankles – it was the picture of the union of the sexes and evoked the image of Ardhanarishvara, a composite androgynous form of the Hindu god Shiva and his consort Parvati.

The brilliance of the dance can be gauged by the fact that A.R. Rahman had also come to the performance. As the performance concluded and the lights turned on, the audience was left open-mouthed by their admiration for the dancers.