Performance Pieces

More and more of Darpana's performance work breaks the traditional boundaries of dance, music, puppetry and theatre, using them together and often with video and other styles. Much of the current repertoire of full-length shows falls into this genre.

Sita's Daughters

Sita's Daughters is a one-woman show telling the stories of some of India's bravest women of yesterday and today, women who refused to give in to the pressures around them, women who questioned the world and its values. They are Sitas who refuse ever again to submit to the tests and trials of weak and doubting men.

Not all are queens or leaders. Some are ordinary women going about their normal lives in our towns and villages. Some of them you know. Some you don't.

Mallika Sarabhai introduces us to these women using her own broad range of talents as classical dancer and actress and her own belief that the performing arts can tackle issues of today while entertaining, informing and enlivening us.

V For

Whenever a brutally violent act is commited, there is a tendency to brand the perpetators as "evil" as if there is a certain group of humans which is naturally viiolent where as the rest of us are pure. But is it really "them" and "us"?

V for... confronts this attitude head on, and looks at the violence inherent in humans since our primitive nomadic wandering when is was a decive for self survival and the protection of our genetic line. It looks at how it is still there, how any crack in the veneer allows the violence to come surging through in all of us, including in apparently harmless people. By taking this look at violence the performance throws light at a dark area allowing us to think of ways of dealing with it.

Cityscapes

Is the TV age drying our our imagination and making us into passive couch potatoes? Or have we merely lost the ability to perceive stories? Take a walk with Mallika Sarabhai and The Darpana Performing Group through today's city as stories are woven out of thin air; where mythic tales happen in your back yard and insignificant neighbours take on heroic proportions. Learn to unsee the mundane and to find adventure and romance all around as the performers dance, sing, tell tales and rap through an exhilerating hour of fun and contemplation.

The Conference of the Birds

Written in the 12th century by Farid Ud-din Attar, this Sufi tale is a parable of the human race's search for truth, for life's meaning and for the self. Told through two dervishes, the parables are told by different birds, all of whom are in search of the mythical bird king, the Simurgh. Each story mirrors one aspect of the human condition and the foibles that are a part of each of us. Using dance, music, story telling and theatre, The Darpana Performing Group creates a stunning performance.

In Search of the Goddess

The Mother Goddess has always had a central role in Hindu mythology and belief. In a philosophy which accepts the primary beings as Ardhanarishwara, a being half female - half male, Devi or Shakti is the primal kinetic energy without whom the male remains passive and immobile.

In this performance piece Mallika Sarabhai explores the perception of Shakti through classical dance, theatre, storytelling and mime.

Taking some traditional pieces from the repertoire of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, she juxtaposes these with her own contemporary interpretations of the Mother Goddess, using her own writing and that of other modern writers.

An Idea Named Meera

Meera represents many things to many people. The adoption of her songs by all strata of society, by all groups of people in India indicates that her's is an idea that finds a resonance in everyone.

Was she a person or a myth? An idea or a dream?

In this multimedia performance piece premiered at the conference "Meera: A Saint for a Global World" in Los Angeles, in October 2002, Mallika Sarabhai explores through dance, music, theatre and video imagery what makes Meera relevant to us today.

Two Lives in Dance, And Two More

In this fascinating production 3 generations of dancers Sarabhai relate their lives in dance in a unique biography. Lead by Mrinalini Sarabhai the heritage continues in her daughter Mallika Sarabhai who brings her activist life into performance and continues the tradition.

Is another generation of the family in dance in place or will it be through another artistic expression? Revanta and Anahita tell us of their vision!

A unique presentation of three generations of thinkers and dancers using spoken words, movement and dance.

The Dance of Life

Inspired by the history of Indian science, from Brahmagupta and Aryabhata to Charaka, Bhaskara and the scientists of the 20th century, The Dance of Life creates in dance visual meaning from abstractions. Sequences include the discovery of the place holder zero, the early development of algebra, the discovery and development of Ayurveda and the first nose surgery, Emperor Jehangir's research into the physiognomy of birds, and the work of J.C Bose, Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai.