Nrityakosh revisits the lifetime of Umm Kulthum, the ‘Voice of Egypt’

The genesis of ‘To burn to bloom’ was Debapriya’s personal journey of learning Egyptian dance alongside classical Egyptian music. “Umm Kulthum was one of many stalwarts of Egyptian classical music, and her repertoire has been central to my journey. Her music has a rare skill to carry advanced emotional states — love, longing, heartbreak, need and give up. These feelings exist vividly in her music, and so they unfold over time quite than being expressed in a single second. As a dancer, that provides you huge scope to work with,” says Debapriya, founder, Nrityakosh.

‘To burn to bloom’ grew out of her need to discover it, whereas additionally introducing Bengaluru audiences to Umm Kulthum and the extraordinary world of classical Egyptian music and dance.

Debapriya Das hopes the efficiency offers the viewers a glimpse of the Egyptian cultural heritage
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association

In accordance with Debapriya, the manufacturing doesn’t simplify Kulthum’s music for the Indian viewers. “As a substitute, we’ve got tried to reply to it truthfully by way of motion, theatre and visible storytelling. Umm Kulthum’s music has a outstanding skill to transcend language obstacles. Even when the phrases are unfamiliar, the emotion in her voice, the poetry of the music and the best way it unfolds nonetheless resonate. That’s the area we wished our work to inhabit,” she provides.

The manufacturing intentionally avoids being a biography and as an alternative is extra of a private tribute. “By ‘To burn to bloom’, I’ve curated a repertoire of Umm Kulthum’s songs, every representing a distinct second in her life. Collectively, they inform a narrative, not essentially of her life, however of her inventive journey.”

The manufacturing brings collectively Egyptian dance, music, textual content, visuals and modern theatre.Debapriya thrives on this hybrid area. “After I began as a practitioner of Egyptian dance, popularly often known as stomach dance, I knew that I wished to make the shape extra accessible to the modern Indian viewers with out altering its spirit,” shares Debapriya.

The Nrityakosh dance ensemble.
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Courtesy: The Nrityakosh Firm

The manufacturing recreates features of mid-Twentieth-century Cairo by way of costumes, lighting and archival-inspired visuals. The songs chosen are those who turned fashionable between Nineteen Thirties and Nineteen Seventies. “So we wanted to recreate town, its individuals and the cultural environment. that went on to make Kulthum what she was.”

Debapriya hopes ‘To burn to bloom’ will provide a glimpse into the world of Egyptian tradition, which, in some ways, appears acquainted to Indians. “I believe audiences will discover many factors of connection even whereas encountering a tradition that’s geographically and traditionally completely different from our personal,” believes Debapriya.

‘To burn to bloom’ can be staged on September 20, 6 p.m., atAlliance Française, Bengaluru. Tickets BookMyShow.