Shadowing marketing and publicity mechanisms
View(s):Pictures and text by Dilantha Dissanayake
Bangalore based Mirra Arun has been engaged in movement art since 2002. While she has been trained in contemporary dance and is a qualified yoga teacher and choreographer, she works extensively in dance education. She is concerned about the ever growing consumerism that is a part of the everyday life of people around the world while also drawing influence from her day to day surroundings.
Her piece ‘According to Official Sources’ presented at the Colombo Dance Platform recently was a satirical look at the way marketing and publicity mechanisms control the mind and behaviour of an individual. She explored themes of sensationalism, representation and objectification.
She enters the stage wearing a red coat, black top with leggings and has a power cord extension wrapped around her neck, once she presses the switch on, she shouts, “but where is the aeroplane.” This is then repeated several times, suddenly she places herself at the front of the stage, directly in the middle. While in the Salambhasana Sirsasana pose or yoga tripod headstand she recites news facts. A humorous laugh engulfs the crowd when she asked, “nobody knows what happened to Brad and Angelina” once again asking “but where is the aeroplane” in a monotonous news caster’s voice.
She then begins to swing the cord around, twirling it around like a ringmaster at a circus, her look complete with the red blazer. This is followed by more anecdotes and the occasional blast of commercial pop music. Towards the finale she takes off the red coat rolls up her leggings and transforms in to a sort of runway model. She whips out a can of deodorant and proceeds to empty the contents around the stage in a swirling motion.
Next she extends her right hand out as if to motion the carrying of a waiter’s tray. She prances around the stage very methodically around the outer edges often cutting the 90-degree corners rather sharply. She then picks up the empty can of deodorant and walks off stage, giving it to the first member of the audience she sees. This person does not take the bait so she leaves it on the person’s lap and then finds another member of the audience. This person is then led to the stage and positioned directly in the centre, she then walks away as the lights go off and the unsuspecting participant is left rather bewildered. The audience breaks out into a fit of laughter and the person on stage returns to his seat.
Mirra explained briefly what went through her mind when she composed the performance. “When I started watching Charlie Chaplin I used to laugh out loud, when I watched the movie again and again as an adult I started crying. I realised it was dark humour. For me that was the best form of portraying contemporary dance, why does everything have to be sad? Everyone would question why I have a wire around my neck and I stopped contextualising, I just like the wire,” she says