CHOREOGRAPHY

Image ID: 106783757

Caption : THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 20/01/2009: Choreography by Samudra group at KALADY in Thiruvananthapuram on January 20, 2009. In sync with the pulsating rhythms of Indian percussion instruments, Mokoera Te Amo, Kasina Campbell and Taupuhi Toki, three Maori dancers of Torotoro dance troupe from New Zealand, brandish their weapons and perform an aggressive version of the 'Kapa Haka' a Maori dance. Closely matching yet contrasting the triads' actions and expressions with fluid Kalaripayattu movements, are the dancers of city-based contemporary troupe Samudra, led by National award winning choreographers Madhu Gopinath and Vakkom Sajeev. The dancers are practising for their upcoming production 'Pranavam', a collaborative venture to be premiered on January 25 at Tagore Theatre as part of the tenth edition of the annual Samudra festival. While the Auckland- based Torotoro specialises in retro takes on traditional Maori (indigenous) martial arts such as Tu Taua with popular styles such as hip hop and breakdance, Samudra's idiom of dance uses a lot of Kalaripayattu, Bharatanatyam and yoga in their productions. Photo: S. Gopakumar