“Keiko Sugawara is the artistic director of Atelier Nihon Buyo, a Kabuki dance school (traditional Japanese dance from the Edo period) based in Geneva. She is the recipient of ‘Prix du Ministre des Affairs Etrangeres’ 2017, and is well respected and a wonderful human. So when the chance to collaborate with world renowned Japanese Dancer, Teacher and Choreographer – Keiko Sugawara -came up, I grabbed the opportunity!” – Sujatha Venkatesh, artistic director of Omkara School of Dance.
Omkara School of Indian Dance’s new and collaborative project, Geste Rituels, is an exciting comparative study between the two traditional dance forms Bharatanatyam and Nihon Buyo, both from the same continent and both with a history that dates back thousands of years.
Our first show is on the 3rd of May 2020 – please join us, and read on below for more information.
Left to right: Keiko Sugawara and Sujatha Venkatesh.
The inwardly concentrated movements and deep thought of Nihon Buyo contrast with the exuberance and range of motion and emotion found in Bharatanatyam, resulting in a wonderful synergy of Yin and Yang when both are combined.
“Their soft, elegant and slow movements where the ‘fan’ becomes the sword, waves, birds…. with their eyes looking inwards in deep reverence – one would think that this would clash with our eyes mirroring our emotions, looking outward and engaging the audience, but this marked difference is what makes the two styles applaud each other. Just like day rolling into the night, seasons changing from one to another or the setting sun making way for the white moon.” – Sujatha Venkatesh.
3 May 2020, 3pm
Centre des arts – Ecole Internationale de Genève, 1208 Geneva
Limited seating, please RSVP your place – email sujatha_venk@hotmail.com
