KHWAAB-SA
Ronita Mookerji plays the Lead Role of PUCK (TAPAK) in the theatre production “Khwaab-sa” which is an Indian Adaptation of William Shakespeare’s, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” directed and produced by Mumbai’s most-popular director, Mr. Atul Kumar, The Company Theatre, Mumbai. This is the first time Ronita has entered into the field of Acting and Physical Theatre while incorporating her dance in the characterisation and composition of her role and character-play.
This 2 hour long Theatre Production which is multi-disciplinary, premiered in Taipei City Hall, Taipei, Taiwan in August 2016, presented by KHAM Inc. Since then, it has toured in several cities of India, including Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Gurgaon, etc. in several prestigious festivals, naming, Prithvi Theatre Festival and The Hindu Metroplus Theatre Festival, etc.
In September 2017, it also toured in Singapore and four shows were performed in The Esplanade Theatre by the Bay. The tours are still on going and many performances are lined up in the year 2018.
WHO?
Contemporary Dance/Movement Installation
Choreography: Ronita Mookerji
Creative Collaboration: Prashant More
Dancers: Prashant More & Ronita Mookerji
Mentorship : Kate Flatt, Tamsin Fitzgerald, Mallika Sarabhai
Music Composer : Martin Basman
Indian Vocals : Akshata Joshi
Costume Designer : Joy Rebecca Mardi
Light Support : Pritham Kumar
Special Thanks to: 2Faced Dance Company UK,The BENCH Project 2017, British Council, UK, Arts Council England, Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Darpana Academy for Performing Arts, Shoonya Centre for Art and Somatic Practices, Abdul (Carpenter).
“The self divided is precisely where the self is authentically located. We all have identity crises because a single identity is a delusion. Authenticity is in the illusion, playing it, seeing through it from within us as we play it, like an actor who sees through a mask and can only see in this way “ – James Hillman.
Who? is an intricate, introspective, multi-layered exploration of identity and its crises through two interwoven solos, created by each of the performers from their extremely personal,hidden space and looking at it from inside out, while trying to deal with the dual energies that are present in Nature, of the man and the woman, of the male and female energies, an intricate power-play yet having to co-exist together, which could be often chaotic or harmonious. Hence the struggle and constant search for balance and the calm. Using the spatial confines of the Box and the external space around it, exploring in-depth the physical and emotional limitations associated with restricted spaces and the tangible concept of freedom. The Box has a metaphoric function representing different facets to each performer in the search for identity.
Ronita started this Contemporary Dance Work in Bremen,Germany in the Autumn 2014 under the working title “Thinking Inside the Box” with Keya Ann D’souza & Satyajit Rajavarma ( India), Ksenia Zhukova & Igor Anuitin ( Russia ) and myself for the Shwankhalle Festival in Bremen.
Later it developed into a Solo-exploration with the title “Who?” which she performed in FOCOCO III in the Shoonya Centre for Art and Somatic Practices, Bangalore.
Then I performed it as a duet with a Singer/Dancer from Bangalore Akshata Joshi in the Prakriti Excellence in Contemporary Dance Awards (PECDA) in Ravindra Kalakshetra,Chennai in August 2016. I was awarded the THE BEST PERFORMANCE of the evening amongst twenty-two dance pieces that were competing.
It was also selected for the PLATFORM 17 STAGE PERFORMANCE in the Attakkalari India Biennale 2017.
It was also nominated with 4 other Female Choreographers to present their work and pitch for a Funding that was offered by the 2FACED DANCE COMPANY, U.K. under THE BENCH PROJECT, India-Uk Year of Culture 2017, in the Attakkalari India Biennale 2017.
I was awarded the Winner of the Funding and the Tour in UK in the Autumn of 2017.
Who? developed into a duet between me and another Bangalore-based Artist Prashant More. It is a Twenty-four minute piece danced with a property, a Box. The original music composition is done by Martin Basman ( Germany), and is mentored by Kate Flatt, London, Mallika Sarabhai, India and Tamsin Fitzgerald, UK.
This dance piece under THE BENCH PROJECT, 2017, “Outlands” programme is commissioned by the 2FACED DANCE COMPANY, funded and supported by the BRITISH COUNCIL, UK and ARTS COUNCIL,ENGLAND and ESMEE FAIRBAIRN FOUNDATION for the “Re:Imagine India Programme” went through intense process in Bangalore from March to September 2017 and finally toured in England for two weeks, 8 performances in: DEDA, Derby , MAC Birmingham, SALISBURY ARTS CENTRE, Salisbury, THE LOWRY, Manchester, SWINDON DANCE, Swindon, THE COURTYARD THEATRE, Hereford and the prestigious THE PLACE in London.
Links:
www.the-bench.org
www.theatreanddance.britishcouncil.org
In October-November, 2017, WHO? was also selected for the ODISHA BIENNALE, (A NEW INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL FOR ART,PERFORMING ARTS AND DESIGN IN INDIA) at Bhuvaneshwar, Odisha organised by the Japan Foundation and Tokyo-Odisha Cultural Exchange Programme, as a MAIN STAGE EVENT alongside choreographers and choreographies from different parts of the world and was followed by Masterclass in Contemporary Dance for the Community, Performers and Artists residing in Bhuvaneshwar and in the Festival.
Link: www.odishabiennale.com
I got the Best Performance Award in PECDA in August 2016. That I was an Award Winning Female Choreographer of THE BENCH Project: “OUTLANDS” Tour UK in 2017.