Giri Devi Androgynous : A view through dance
View(s):Text and pictures by Dilantha Dissanayake
Pradeep Gunarathna recently performed a piece from the low country-dance tradition, Giri Devi Androgynous. The piece was created during a six-week dance residency in Bangalore and premiered at the Attakkalari Biennale, Bangalore 2015. The dance recreates a folk tale, the Giri Yakshani of demons which appear in 12 manifestations. Later on it appears as a beautiful goddess dancing gracefully wearing a golden mask. Legend has it that the Giri Devi was ravished by her own brother and committed suicide.
Pradeep is the principal dancer of the Arpeggio Creative Dance and Drama Academy (ACDDA). He was trained in the Udarata Sampradaya a traditional Kandyan dance. He is a third year undergraduate at the University of the Visual and Performing Arts. He performed the main role in ‘Kuweni Vijaya’ a production by ACDDA that toured India in 2014. That same year he premiered his solo work Kuwanna’s Metamorphosis at the Colombo Dance Platform.
He began his piece by appearing on stage with a small oil lamp, lighting up his chiselled physique like a chiaroscuro painting by Caravaggio. As he slowly walks towards the centre, he places the oil lamp on a rope with a noose hanging from the ceiling. Dressed in a loincloth he begins to move, throwing himself violently across from one end to another. As his body contorts he shows of his muscular figure, his arms twist and legs contort. With his long curls tied up in a topknot, Pradeep embodies the appearance of a holy man from Varanasi. As he is flung around there are moments in the piece where he screams as if controlled by another being, at moments of clarity white noise from a radio deafens the audience. Towards the end of the piece Pradeep creeps silently to the front and a women’s voice sings softly while he applies paint over his body. At this point he glides towards the oil lamp, removes it and caresses it close to his abdomen. At this point the lights go out suddenly.
Pradeep commented afterward on his piece that from his residency in India he learnt to negotiate between tradition and the body. “I learnt how colours and sounds can be used in performances, I did a number of experiments with my mentors and based my performance on that knowledge.
There is no considerable change to the low country-dance, what is important for me is to express my feelings especially through my voice.”
Pradeep discusses his piece