Photo courtesy of Marisa Caiola
This past weekend, ADITI held its annual cultural celebration event, “Mela.” This year’s event was of special importance because it marks ADITI’s 30th anniversary.
The melodious live music, carried largely by the singers’ masterful command of tone, was a welcome departure from the dominant voices we are so accustomed to in American music.
The dancing was bold and powerful. Each dance had its own charm; some focused on subtly intricate hand movements while others were more energetic and full of motion.
All of the performances had vibrant colors infused into the costumes, from scarlet and deep azure to sunny yellow and royal purple.
Different forms of dance incorporate this plethora of vivid colors for several reasons. According to sophomore Priyanka Patel, captain of the Raas Team, the lively costumes mirror the happiness stemming from the celebration of Navaratri, “a festival of nine days and nine nights” that honors all nine forms of Hindu goddess Shakti, one for each day.
Freshman Poonam Brar a member of the Bhangra Team explained that “Bhangra is a high-energy dance that is used to celebrate the harvest and happiness.” When it comes to how the dance is mainly structured, she says that “each person has a partner with a matching color called ‘jodi,’ who you interact and flirt with.”
High energy is no exaggeration , seeing as how the dancers squatted and jumped across the stage an innumerable number of times.
If the dancing were not taxing enough, the Bhangra dancers also have their fair share of accessories to handle during their difficult steps.
The men’s large intricate head pieces, called turlas, are especially eye-catching. It takes a lot of work and experience to tie the fabric into the correct pattern and make it stay stiff so that the turlas are not flopping around on stage.
During backstage preparation, all the male Bhangra dancers were sitting with several people
Photo courtesy of Marisa Caiola
buzzing around their heads, fussing with the fabric. According to Brar, the tool of choice is hairspray “so that it stays better.” The stiff turla in turn allows for the characteristic “head twitches to be more emphasized.”
Though the performance attire for each style of dance was unique, there was a key element that united them all. Many of the performers donned flowing fabric strewn with sequins that helped emphasize the large sweeping movements of their dances. According to junior Bollywood-style dancer Sukanya Roy, her lengthy sequined skirt was flowing “so that with every spin it [would] take up the stage and [exaggerate] the subtle hip movements.”
The glittering chains around her waist created the same effect. Strapped to her ankles were a thin string of bells that are “usually worn for classical dancing, meant to add to the beat of the music so that people can hear you coming.”
During the performances, these usages were immediately evident as the light constantly flickered off the dancers’ clothing, amplifying every movement and giving them greater command of the stage.
Of course, no look is complete without makeup. The Bharatanatyam dancers were sporting the heaviest look of the event with a bindi on the center of their foreheads, dramatic cat-eye eyeliner and cherry red lipstick. Half of their hair was swept up in braided buns encircled by rings of white and red flowers. The white jasmine flowers are a trademark hair accessory in India due to their sweet fragrance. Elaborate gold jewelry was the finishing touch.
According to senior and Bharatanatyam dancer Amita Sampath, the “makeup is very strong because there are a lot of [facial] expressions, and we want those expressions to be emphasized on stage.”
This year, the 30th MELA celebration did not fall short of its esteemed reputation, offering an abundance of culture through dynamic, eye-catching performances.
Iqbal is a member of the class of 2017.
Wong is a member of the class of 2017.
