LITTLE STINT | Embodied

Embodied is an exploratory, performative dialogue between a contemporary dancer (Surjit) and a classical dancer (Babina). Collectively, the duo dive into the history and techniques of Manipuri dance–a form that they each embody. Through this piece they introduce the audience to the specific socio-cultural sensibilities that Manipuri dance is imbued with; sensibilities and context that have, at times in the past, been conflicting. The program combines talk, engaging the audience in the history of Manipuri dance and how it has evolved in its performance aspects. Through demonstration, Babina urges us to peel past these layers and ask fundamental questions regarding the form and, by extension, perhaps classical dance itself. What does the dancer themselves embody? Where does the core of Manipuri dance lie–in the language of its performance or in its time-honoured tradition of restraint?

In this exploratory presentation Surjit and Babina lead the audience to a land and culture that mainland India, as illustrated by the ongoing conflict in the state, has invariably kept at arm’s length. Along with their own questions of how they embody this classical form they urge us to question wider ideas of how we might belong to one-another. Or not…