This story is from February 15, 2017

Empowering women through movement arts

UK-born contemporary dance artist Kay Crook in helping Bengaluru’s women to break stereotypes
Empowering women through movement arts
She sways like a breath and bends like a twig, making patterns in music that can transport you to the heart of dance, almost instantly. Contemporary dance expert from the UK, Kay Crook has been working on a slew of movement arts projects in Bengaluru over the past five years that are primarily hybrid in nature, deriving both from Indian classical forms and English styles of music and dance.
Her collective called Chhaya is currently conducting a special body conditioning and an intensive choreography/performance workshop at Shoonya – Centre for Art and Somatic Practices. Apart from dance moves, Devon-born Kay’s choreography involves various intriguing elements of cinema, theatre, photography as well as martial arts. Richly abound in dance and drama, her pouncing steps and rhythmic twirls speak volumes about women empowerment, in particular.
“My dance aims at pitting women against challenges that are often thought to be men’s domain. It’s a very physical and powerful way to break the stereotypes and empower women from all sections of the society,” says Kay. She mostly works in collaboration with dancer-choreographer Ajeesh K Balakrishnan, who is also a Kalaripayattu exponent.
One of her recent projects, called Falling Light, made an attempt to uncover the ‘disappearing’ communities of people in Bengaluru that are slowly being pushed to oblivion due to rapid urbanization. The research specifically concentrated on areas in and around Ulsoor, Palace Guttahalli and Kothnur.
Although her collective fosters a cultural exchange between artists in the UK and India through cross-art form collaborative practice, it is not necessarily a merge or blend. “The components of each performance are unique and poignant. They are the products of intense research, understanding and training.” Kay’s choreography draws inspiration from various traditional Indian arts forms, especially Bharatanatyam and Kathak. Last year, she choreographed a full-length production, titled Time & Tide, in collaboration with filmmaker David Snowden, musician Cameron Murray and cast of six dancers.
Speaking about the receptive nature of Indian dancers and audiences, the artists says, “When it comes to arts, the energy level is very high here. People are curious and eager to learn different art forms and even experimental works. In the UK, things are too cerebral and sometimes, less engaging.”
Her latest workshop in the city also involves an innovative workout regime that comprises muscular and cardiac training, apart from Pilate styles.
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