Interview

Shantala Shivalingappa

By Patricia Boccadoro

PARIS, 1 December 2004—The beautiful young Indian dancer, Shantalala Shivalingappa, who guested at the Théatre de la Ville with Pina Bausch in Nefés last season, returned to the scene in Paris in October with a programme of kuchipudi, a classical dance style from Southern India dating back to the sixteenth century. She presented her own creation, Shiva Ganga, with musicians J.Ramesh, B.P.Haribabu, M.S. Sukhi and K.S. Jayaram in the pretty Théatre des Abbesses at the end of October. With her long dark hair, delicate features and expressive almond-shaped eyes, Shantala, now twenty-seven, is as enchanting, as gentle, and as exotic as her name.

She was born in Madras and her parents, who were already established in Paris, brought her to the French capital when she was only a few months old. Daughter of the celebrated choreographer, Savitry Nair, who taught not only in Paris, but at Mudra, Béjart's school in Brussels and with Bausch, Shantala began taking classes once or twice a week around the age of seven.

Shantalala Shivalingappa
Photo: © C.P.SATYAJIT

"But at the same time my father encouraged my studies, and I'm very pleased that he did", she told me, "because after attending a bi-lingual school , bi-lingual because we always spoke English at home, I obtained my degree and an M.A. in ethnology at the Sorbonne. But every holiday was spent in India, where my real training as a kuchipudi dancer began. It wasn't that I wanted to be a dancer", she said as we chatted in a small coffee bar near her home, "but more that I grew up with music and dance and simply enjoyed it. ".

However, the revelation came when Shantala was fifteen and took part in a choreography her mother had created for The Place in London, for Dance Umbrella festival. "My mother wanted me to learn a variation in kuchipudi, and the moment I did, something clicked and I realised that was what I wanted to do with my life. There are many different classical dance styles in India", she explained. "Akram Khan, for example, specialises in Kathak, from North India and Pakistan. The footwork is very complex and the emphasis is much more on rhythm. My mother herself specialised in Bharata Natyam, a refined, evocative style concerning religious subjects. Kuchipudi, a sacred dance originally danced by men, is extremely rapid and uses this beating on the floor with your feet. It's very strong on the floor with quick precise movements. The lines are neat and pure, and at the same time it's very graceful".

Indeed, the rapidity of her tiny feet was emphasised by the ankle bells, and her slender, fluid body in its traditional Indian costume was a mass of harmonious curves. Her almost liquid turns and soft, feather-light leaps and dips were an absolute joy to watch. Many in the audience broke out into exclamations of wonder; it was such delight to watch her.

Shantalala Shivalingappa
Photo:© C.P.SATYAJIT