Her recital for the Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai during it’s annual cultural festival included bits from her various works. It was aptly titled ‘Snapshots’ (as in a photo album) and presented the voyage of the dancer from her traditional kathak roots to her contemporary dance style. A lifetime dedicated to kathak cannot be forgotten easily. One observes the importance of rhythm in many of Daksha’s ‘new’ pieces, and her partiality to intricate footwork is all too obvious. One can also catch inspirations from ballet, kalaripayattu, gymnastics and yoga, as well. In her own words she calls her style, ‘contemporary dance of a traditional dancer’.

Daksha Seth commenced with standard kathak fare. She performed an invocation to Saraswathi, and an item of pure dance in teen taal (16 matras). As the audience were lulled into watching a North Indian dance recital, Isha and Anil Kumar came on stage with minimal clothing, ‘langoots’, both in white. It was an excerpt from ‘Sarpagathi’, a new production using the snake as a symbol of wealth and fertility. Sensual movements and the almost bare bodies… it was at first too shocking to comprehend what was happening. As one tuned in to the dance, one could appreciate the skill, technique and suppleness of the dancers. They writhed around each other, as a snake would around a tree, they climbed up and down each other, in short, they seemed to be without a bone in their bodies. Holding each other for balance, the two dancers wove magic between them. The soft blue lighting and the suggestive instrumental music added to the surreal effect. But the transition from traditional to modern was too striking to ignore. It demonstrated how movement, dress, and music could change the mood in a trice. Did Daksha Seth want to shock her straitlaced audience in Chennai? A moot question, but whether it was intended or not, she certainly succeeded!

Daksha presented her first experiment with modern dance back in 1986. Set to Antonio Vivaldi’s music, the theme was of a girl waiting for her man, and their subsequent tryst. Truly an amalgam of the East and the West, with the dancer dressing herself and waiting for him, ‘abhinaya-style’, and the ballet style dancing during the rendezvous. A jump in time into their latest production, ‘Bhookam’, where Isha and two male dancers, Anil Kumar and Rajesh, demonstrated faultless movements and incredible suppleness and control over their bodies. The movements were all at floor level with shades of kalaripayattu, the martial art of Kerala. The production represented the circus of the Earth and the Sky, and the celebration of a century of flight. There was instrumental music with almost no percussion.

Daksha now switched over to a ‘modern’ costume of loose red pants and a navy blue body suit. To the live music of the electric guitar and percussion, she adapted kathak footwork devoid of the ankle bells and any arm movements. The next item called the ‘Ensemble section’ was the best appreciated. The four dancers similarly dressed in loose chinos kept up the fast tempo of the music stamping their feet, clicking fingers, tapping the chest, clapping hands, …it was an exhilarating experience. There was beat, there was grace, and there was enjoyment.

Choreographed especially for Isha and set to music by Devissaro, the next item was a solo designed to bring out the best in this talented youngster. Reminded one of the floor gymnastics that one sees in the Olympics. Her trained body proves the commitment of the young 15 year old. Unfortunately, it was interrupted by an electricity breakdown. The programme had to be cut short and the dancers closed with another excerpt from Bhookam. One can only salute this dynamic dancer Daksha Seth who has the courage of conviction to stand unmoved by popular sentiment.