Kathmandu:

Plays are no longer simply dialogue-oriented. Stage actors these days make extensive use of stylised body movements, dance, and choreography.

Shashdhar Acharya, a performer and a teacher of the unique masked dance form of Seraikella Chhau, was here recently and conducted a three week workshop for students of Gurukul and a group of German artistes. The main objective of conducting such a workshop was to train theatre artistes on the unique body language that has strong body kinetics.

Primarily a dance form, the credit for introducing Chhau to theatre goes to Acharya, who is creative, while at the same time conscious about preserving the traditional spirit of the form of ancient dance. In its most rudimentary form, Chhau is India is described as the game of sword and shield. It was later adopted by dancers and incorporated into their choreography. It became more stylised both in physical and aesthetic sensibilities and became a dance form. “When an art form grows, it takes things from other forms, one enriching the other,” opines Acharya.

It’s a spirited and energetic dance where the dancer executes movements, spiral turns, jumps and extended leg movements. There is an absence of facial expressions a mask covers the face. Thus, emotions are expressed through bodily movements only. The themes for the dance are drawn from religion, mythology and even history, converting a fight sequence to an element of romance. With the passage of time, various themes have been incorporated into the Chhau dances.

Having its origin in the hunting and warfare games, its technique is also derived from the gaits and flights of birds and animals. The workshop participants believe they have learnt body balance, rhythm that are necessary requirements for theatre artistes. Acharya has performed extensively in India and abroad. For his significant contribution to the evolution and development of this art form, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2004. He is the youngest person ever to be awarded such prestigious award in India.

Besides running two institutions to teach Chhau to students of dance and theatre, he has been teaching movement at the National School of Drama.