PARADIGM SHIFT: (From top) Priti Patel’s Agni,Sharmila Biswas’ Living with Odissi , and Aditi Mangaldas’ Timeless are all experimental works

When Bharati Shivaji and her troupe don their trademark white and gold silks in Delhi on December 2, it will be to present a compelling version of Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet Swan Lake. In a startling departure from convention, Shivaji’s interpretation of the Russian classic weaves Mohiniattam (a women’s only classical dance from Kerala) with Mayurbhanj Chhau (a robust yet lyrical war dance from Orissa).

Shivaji is not alone in her pursuit of individual expression in a classical dance form. All classical dancers worth their ghungroos (ankle bells) are experimenting with form, theme, and vocabulary to stand out in a crowd and woo audiences.

“I feel that cross-cultural references and interactions with other forms enrich one’s own vocabulary. However, I keep the different traditions intact so that there is no vulgar mix of forms,” says Shivaji, an exponent of Mohiniattam.

Clearly, originality is the name of the game in the world of contemporary classical dance. And more and more artistes are looking to free themselves of age-old stereotypes to try and communicate in a universal language. Says Kathak dancer-choreographer Aditi Mangaldas, “I have a quarrel with people who say that a classical dance form is so exhaustive that there is no need to work on its repertoire anymore,” she argues.

Odissi dancer-choreographer Madhavi Mudgal agrees. In fact, she predicts the death of a tradition that believes that it’s too sacrosanct to be experimented with. “Rather than do the third or sixth carbon copy of anything, it is the job of every creative artiste to add to the form,” she says.

Bharatnatyam exponent Leela Samson, who is also the director of the Chennai based academy of art, Kalakshetra, has choreographed a production entitled Spanda, which reinterprets tradition by presenting a “conversation” among dance, music and stagecraft. Samson often uses poetry and north Indian music in her work to make it acceptable to her cosmopolitan audiences.

Others are also coming up with unconventional takes on tradition. Mangaldas’ Winter — a solo piece based on pure Kathak — is a bold experiment where she dances throughout with her back turned to the audience. Another of her acclaimed productions, Textures of Silence, is a soundless exercise that tries to inspire members of the audience “to feel the music within themselves.”

Manipuri exponent Priti Patel has been experimenting with a variety of conventions in her own field. Her Agni is a stunning outdoor production based on Thang-ta, a Manipuri martial art, which explores fire in its many ramifications. Patel has travelled with it all over the country. “I have merely tried to bring together the heterogeneous elements that exist within the Manipuri form and integrate them,” she says.

Dancers point out that they need to innovate not just to stay creative but also to awaken the interest of dwindling audiences. As Samson puts it, “If interest is dwindling and there aren’t enough patrons, we have only ourselves to blame. We need to review our own repertoire and keep adding to it.”

A lot of dancers are trying to do just that. Calcutta-based Odissi dancer and choreographer Sharmila Biswas recently “created” an audience through an interactive performance. “Classical dance is often perceived to be exotic and that turns away audiences,” says Biswas. Her production, Living with Odissi, tries to bridge the distance between the performer and the audience through a unique experiment. “Beginning at the foyer of the auditorium, we take the audience on a physical journey through the various aspects of a dancer’s experience. The craftsmen who make our props and jewellery also give a live demonstration,” she says. The whole exercise explains the process through which everyday actions and emotions become refined dance movements and expressions.

But not everybody is convinced that experimentation is always a good thing. “Newness cannot be thrust upon you. It has to be born out of conviction,” cautions dance critic Leela Venkataraman. “While no rules can be laid down on creativity in art, I, for one, would be very sorry if the core of a dance tradition were destroyed in the effort to innovate,” she says.

Still, innovations are likely to define classical dance now. Apart from form and style, dancers are also using contemporary themes to pull in audiences. Almost half a century ago, Mrinalini Sarabhai addressed social issues such as dowry through Bharatanatyam. More recently, Kathak dancer Kumudini Lakhia has focused on gender concerns in her work. Bangalore-based Kathak exponent Madhu Natraj Heri is currently working on a production that draws inspiration from the world of diamond workers. Priti Patel’s 2006 production, The Game of Dice, was based on the political unrest in Manipur, and by extension, the whole of the northeast.

Clearly, classical dancers are doing all they can to shed their esoteric image. Whether they manage to reinvent themselves and their art form to arouse the interest of a new generation of audiences remains to be seen.