Dancer- choreographer, teacher and curator, Sanjukta Wagh has trained extensively under Rajashree Shirke in Kathak and under Murli Manohar Shukla in Hindustani music. Her engagement with theatre (honed by playwright-director Chetan Datar), her year-long experience at the Laban Centre of Dance, London, her love of literature and deep unease with comfort zones, have led to her interdisciplinary and exploratory mode of work. Her dance-theatre performance RAGE AND BEYOND is one of the 10 productions that have been selected for the 2015 Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META). We take the opportunity to speak to her.
By Deepa Punjani
Deepa Punjani (DP) : You have been selected to stage your solo performance at META 2015. What was your reaction when you got the news?
Sanjukta Wagh (SW) : It was a huge surprise. I was forced to apply by a friend as he found the form and language of my play quite unique. I almost didn't! To be chosen as one of ten plays across India is truly an honour. I was overwhelmed by the nomination, especially as it is a solo work of dance theatre scripted, choreographed, directed and performed by myself. Though I mustn't forget it was conceived in collaboration with Sociologist Gita Chadha for a seminar on feminisms: 'Towards a state of alteredness'. My musical collaborator Hitesh has also been an indivisible part of the work. Since its inception, my character, Gandhari has grown and evolved with every performance. To be nominated in six categories feels fantastic. Can't wait to watch the other works, learn, exchange and be part of this wonderful creative community. I am excited, as there is so much to learn, absorb and explore.
DP: Your group has been involved with evolving contemporary performances rooted in dance and literature. Tell us more about your group.
SW: My initiative is called Beej. It is rooted in the languages of Indian classical dance and music. We engage in pushing boundaries of form and content. We are interested in interdisciplinary collaborations and redefining pedagogical methods. We have three wings:
The Beej garage exploring process: the tools and methods of making and unmaking in the artistic process.
The Beej school of Kathak, which explores pedagogy: we are trying to develop newer and student-centered methodologies of imparting classical knowledge, mainly Kathak. We hope to offer these modules for alternative ways of learning.
The Beej dance company: our work in production and performance has always been largely process oriented and interdisciplinary, exploring literature, theatre, Hindustani classical and other forms of music, Kathak and other movement techniques in tandem.
In my teaching, practice and performance I seek to have a conversation across these forms and see how they converge in the body and space.
My site for exploration and research has been improvisation in the context of the body, space, sound and the word ( written and spoken). Venturing into myth with Putana and Gandhari opened up a new world and revealed further insights in my creative process.
DP: You have used Irawati Karnik's Mahabharata text to develop your character of Gandhari in RAGE AND BEYOND, the play that has been selected for META. What was the process like?
SW: This is a biggie. I have written an article on the making of the performance for the Pune-based classical dance magazine called 'Loud Applause'.
DP: In the fields of theatre and dance, who has inspired you? Whose works do you look up to?
SW: Apart from my Guru's Rajashree Shirke, Pandit Murli Manohar Shukla, Chetan Datar, who have made me the artiste I am in so many ways, I must mention workshops and one on one sessions with Vijaya Mehta, Kumudini Lakhia, Suzanna Linke, Shankar Venkateshwaran, Rama Vaidyanathan. They have opened up newer doors to the creative process. Some of my biggest inspirations today in the performance world are Kalai Rani for her incredible work with voice, body and presence; Aditi Mangaldas for her rigour, dynamism and creative rethinking of the Kathak form; I love Adishakti for their engagement with rhythms, body and rewriting myth; Kapila Venu for her mastery over her form, and there are others too. DP: You had the opportunity to work with Chetan Datar in his production of Elkunchawar's HARAVLELE PRATIBIMB. How do you recall the experience working with him?
SW: I worked with and knew Chetan for several years... without really being his direct student. I would sit in his rehearsals, attend his workshops, and watch him direct. I've had numerous chats on theatre and literature with him. PRATIBIMBA was great fun but very short-lived. I finally got work in his last play GIRIBALA. Chetan's sensibility, his politics and his sense of stagecraft and energy were marvellous. I learned from him the use of the human body on stage and how the body can create meanings just by placement.
DP: You had been active staging performances as I recall even as an English Literature student at the SNDT Women's University. Did you know then that you would have your own group that would be involved with theatre as well as dance?
SW: Actually I had no idea. I am very pleased that I chose to do my post graduation in Literature as that has shaped my sensibility and my politics as an artiste. My year at the Laban school of Dance also redefined my approach making it live inside my moving body. I still move from project to project very much by instinct. My group Beej has grown with each venture... and my dream is to let it find its own momentum without losing sight of its founding principles.
DP: Are you working on anything at present?
SW: Watching Gandhari grow from show to show. A few more collaborations are on the cards but nothing concrete yet.
DP: Your group has been involved with evolving contemporary performances rooted in dance and literature. Tell us more about your group.
