One of the major highlights of the 2014 Sydney Festival CHI UDAKA is an explosively energetic blending of colour, rhythm, dance and music. Inspired by the forces of nature, ,’Chi ‘ is Earth ( the Taikoz musicians) and ‘Udaka ‘ is water , ( the dancers ) the traditional elements of fluidity, solidness and separation that shape and form the world in constant movement.
A world premiere, the show fuses several worlds – Western classical music ( cello by wonderful John Napier) , Japanese music ( Shakuhachi and shinobue by maestro Riley Lee) , the rhythm and power of extraordinary Taikoz and the Indian world of the Lingalayam dancers with singer Aruna Partiban. Directors Anandavalli and Ian Clenworth sought to develop a sense of surprise and exploration through dialogue between the at first seemingly mismatched groups, with glimpses of parallels, symbiosis and apparently discordant clashes that actually work magnificently .
There is basically just the bare thrust stage of the York theatre with the drums set for Taikoz with some glorious red drapes overhead. Sometimes some of the cast stand on raised platforms. Napier and Lee are, at one point, featured up on a balcony for their solos/duet. (Depending on where you seated there could possibly have been a problem with the sightlines for that).
Each separate group (Taikoz, the dancers from Lingalayam, the featured musicians) has a solo showcasing their massive talent but the work is also a dialogue between disparate elements blending fierce drumming, complicated Indian rhythms and delicate shakuhachi deliciously. Musically it ranged from explosively joyous and powerful , blending very complicated rhythms, at times atonal , others lyrical with Napier’s cello , to the soft , haunting ‘new age ‘ finale.
The audience was blown away by the sheer, infectious energy of the Taikoz group who not only did amazing , tightly choreographed routines with their drums and sticks , defining light and shade in the percussion and complicated beats – sometimes the sticks moved so fast they blurred – but also used other instruments such as bell rattles and cymbals. And they jumped and danced in their white tabi!
Partiban was dramatic in her black and gold, and sang hauntingly, sweeping away diva like when she had finished. Napier wore orchestral black, Lee a black kimono suit.
The six dancers from Lingalayam were extraordinary. At times their henna-ed feet beat percussive rhythm in the Bharatha Natyam dance .They had smoky, very expressive eyes accented by their makeup and a particular way of holding their torso rather rigidly yet with sinuous arms and a distinctive epaulement of the shoulders. There was an extended elegant solo by one of the lead dancers in blue. A mesmerizing duet was performed where two of the dancers were like darting fish with rippling arms and wonderful dappled lighting. Every mudras or step meant something and was finely controlled. Sometimes they fell into soft, sculptural poses, but this was contrasted with vibrant Bollywood like exuberance at certain points.
The audience was wildly enthusiastic with a rapturous cheering standing ovation at the end.
Running time- roughly 70 mins no interval.
A Sydney Festival event, CHI UDKA played the Seymour Centre between the 16th and 18th January, 2014.