Christchurch is currently hosting the 2012 Body Festival of Dance and Physical Theatre. The programme attracts a large number of people, with a steadily increasing participation every year. It showcases a variety of dance performances ranging from classical to contemporary, as well as other performance arts such as puppetry and circus. The Body Festival is being held from 21st September to 14th October at various locations – check out the events calendar on its website.
One of the dance performances in the classical genre which I am particularly looking forward to is the Bharatanatyam, a highly intricate Indian dance requiring several years of practice to perfect. The dancers, Vivek Kinra and the Mudra Dance Company, will be performing a piece called Satvika, narrating stories of the romances and battles of Hindu gods and goddesses. In the dance, the performers truly use the body as a medium of communication, depicting the stories’ various characteristics through subtle expressions, gestures and emotions.
If you are inspired to learn more about Bharanatyam, you can find the details about the Bharatanatyam Group of Christchurch in CINCH, our database of community information.
Christchurch City Library also holds a number of informative books on the physiological, anatomical and emotional aspects of dance, which can help you gain a general understanding of the biomechanics of movement and body-mind conditioning, and learn exercises to attain flexibility and control of movements.
Rema,
Hornby Library
Christchurch City Libraries Blog 