By Vinanti Mistry
Hema Sharma …. sweet but very hard working and determined lady. I heard about her from Didi ( Sarmishtha Sarkar ) after her US trip. She was telling me about this lady who runs a Bharathantyam school in Kansas city. And I was fascinated by her just knowing few details. I got to meet her when she was vising India and you instantly feel comfortable with her, smile is ever present on her face and her easy manners makes you feel warm.
Surabhi Ensemble: An artistic eclectic mix of sounds and movement is a Chicago-based world music group with a mission of bringing together people to celebrate diverse global cultures, musical genres, race, religion, and color! It includes, both music and dance from the Indian, African, Middle Eastern and Spanish flamenco traditions. I started dancing with Surabhi in 2015. What started as a 5 minute Bharatanatyam routine and a short improvisational collaborative piece with flamenco dancer Marisiela Tapia, is now a versatile repertoire including folk, Kathak and contemporary along with collaborative dance pieces with flamenco or middle eastern dancers. We recently went on a Global Peace Tour to Vietnam, Spain, Portugal and Senegal. Carlo Basile (one of the founding members of the group)’s idea of travelling across the globe with his family and a guitar evolved into a a much larger family of 10 artists and a lot more gear! Sharing some photographs of our artistic collaborations and presentations in different communities around the world.
All photos are by Larissa Rolley unless credited otherwise.
Our workshops at schools and universities made me realize how receptive the youth of Vietnam were. The students joined us; counting the rhythm, clapping, playing their guitars and drums as well as singing. At a luncheon conversation with Miss My of YoungHit YoungBeat Academy, it was very encouraging to learn how the academy was shaping their students to not only be a good musician or dancer but also imbibe the change and discipline in their lives and creating an open environment for future generations.
We performed at the Nhà hát Ca múa nhạc Việt Nam Theater in Hanoi. We were told that this is equivalent to the Kennedy Center. Our Surabhi repertoire was followed by Vietnamese traditional folk concert. They also shared their traditional dance with hats and demonstrated some unique wind instruments. The dance part was of particular interest to me as their hand movements were very controlled and deliberate, something that can be related to mudras (hand gestures used in Indian classical dance or yoga).
The cultural and artistic exchange tone of the tour was set on the very first night: a jam session at David Payne’s house. A couple hour rehearsal/jam session with the Gnawa group TranSplanted prepared us for 3 collaborative pieces with full ensemble including dance. We did 2 shows collaboratively.
The show at Hanoi Rock City was super fun! The audience energy doubled our joy of performing. As the stage was very tricky for bigger dance movement, taking some folk movements off the stage into the audience and felt even more connected to the audience.
We were told that our last show in Vietnam was at pizza place- La Bodega. It turned out to be a beautiful outdoor setting – with tasteful lighting, colors and fire. For me personally, it was a dream to present the piece “Hanoi” (composed by Carlo and Chich) in Hanoi. It was fulfilling to see everyone join us and dance to the closing number at both the shows.
Our Hanoi shows were made possible by our host contacts Huy (drummer) and Thu Kim Vu (Visual artist, Art Institute of Chicago graduate). I cannot thank them enough for their hospitality, love, passion for art and trust in our work.
People in Vietnam were very welcoming and loving. A lot of history, love and good food! I thank Surabhi Ensemble and Carlo Basile for his efforts for this opportunity.
By Vinanti Mistry
Gandabhai Chaturbhai … known as Gandakaka was one of the musicians in the folk dance group ‘Setu’. He played Shehnai, been (snake charmer’s flute) , manjira and other Indian folk instruments.
I joined the group when I was in 7th grade. Right from the beginning Gandakaka became one of the people I would enjoy talking to. He just had a happy go lucky attutide and fun things to talk about.
It was really fun watching him on our travels abroad. He was always the most exotic looking one from the group. Most Airport security people would think he might have a snake in one of his bags and would go on and onto searching for one. Others would find him interesting and ask lots of questions about his instruments. He didn’t speak English but was easy conversing with all the people. Most interesting of the incident was in a small restaurant in Italy. We were having our meal and the owner of the restaurant came babbling in exited high piched Italian voice to follow him in the other room. He had a framed picture of Gandakaka from some years ago.
Sometimes I feel like I was so young and ignorant when I got chance to meet all these wonderful people and travel. But then sometimes I realize that ignorance was a blessing … I get to know everything without judgment.
By Sarmishtha Sarkar
Friendships develop along the way, especially on journeys that are arduous, difficult and taxing. The fun, frolic and laughter are thrown in for good measure and bonds become stronger and long lasting.
By Sarmistha Sarkar
Our travels have always taken us to unique places and given us unique experiences. The charm of travelling for me has always been encountering the unexpected. And truly, I have been bestowed with many such special and amazing encounters over the years that I have been travelling.
By Vinanti Mistry
For last eight years dance has taken a step back in my life … and Motherhood has taken center stage in my life. Few times my brother has been angry with me when I don’t talk about anything else but my kids, He only remembers me as a person who was highly occupied with different activities and he is worried that I am not me anymore. There are weeks or sometimes months I used to disappear from everywhere ( for example summer vacations). But that doesn’t mean I am the best mom in the world.
Sarmishtha Sarkar and friends at Darpana started learning folk dance from around India. I got to learn,be a company member and tour with then “Setu Folk Dance Group” through Sarmishtha didi. Though Bharatanatyam has always been the foundation of my dance training, the community feeling, joy and group dynamics of folk dance has always been close to me. The inclusiveness of social dance, the simplicity of movements and integrated household music stole my heart as soon as I started learning it formally. Continue reading “Carrying on the lineage”
By Vinanti Misty
When I was in 2nd grade there was a teacher with biggest eyes I have ever seen. I can’t stop looking at her and always looking for a chance to talk to her. I still remember that I used to tell many people about her. She used to teach yoga. Eventually the school started Bharatnatyam lessons and best part was the teacher. I was hardly able to say her name but just loved being around her. By 2nd grade I have already been learning Bharatnatyam for 2 years. So I felt a little proud of myself for knowing what that wonderful teacher was teaching. But all stories have a twist … my parents decided to send me to a different school (best thing happened to me ). So I wasn’t able to stay in touch with my most favorite teacher …
By Sarmishtha Sarkar
The visit to Japan was one of my most memorable trips! Apart from dancing in one of Tokyo’s foremost theaters and other big cities like Osaka and Kyoto, we also got an opportunity to travel to the smaller towns and perform for small audiences. The best part was being able to stay in a small town with a family and become a part of their daily routine! And the other remarkable feature of this trip was being able to mingle with the cast and crew of Peter Brooke’s famous theatrical production Mahabharata! I was indeed lucky! The pictures speak a lot about my experiences…
trail of the anklets 