The Festival of Perth always showcases a few gems that are only on for a short time, and if you blink, so to speak, you will miss them. Such a gem is Shiva Shakti.
The Daksha Sheth Dance Company is almost a family business. The founder and the director – Daksha Sheth herself and her husband, the Australian-born musician Devissaro – have two children involved in the company. Their daughter, Bollywood star Isha Sharvani, is the company’s principal dancer, and their highly-gifted percussionist son, Tao Issaro, leads a team of drummers who could also dance the socks off many pro dance artists. Daksha Sheth herself made a couple of brief appearances in this production, including one touching scene in which she appeared to be ‘handing on the mantle’ (in this case a red sari) to her daughter.
The company’s work can only be described as eclectic – it uses a contemporary dance form that incorporates elements of various Indian dance styles while also casting nods in other directions. There was some fine didgeridoo playing and some ‘tribal’ dance that paid homage, perhaps, to Indigenous cultures of both India and Australia, and there were occasional suggestions of a Middle Eastern influence. Top all this with some glorious aerial work and you have an utterly unique and very wonderful show.
Shiva is the male principle, Shakti the female. Together they manifest all that is, and, as the program puts it, ‘The Kundalini Shakti in each one of us unites us and connects us in the dance of Shiva’. Shiva Shakti showed us the many ways this dance, the dance of creation itself, is made manifest. Lord Shiva has to destroy in order to recreate, so we caught glimpses of love and death, creation and destruction.
Various elements held the ever-changing scenes together. There was the afore-mentioned red sari that seemed to be never-ending, suggestive of the legend of Draupadi, but here it was used to both unite and divide a pair of lovers and to bind an army together. Swordplay followed, some of it in the air! Flying while fighting would no doubt take a good deal of rehearsal, and this cast never missed a stroke. I hope they will come back and tour the country someday. This work deserves to be seen nationwide.
Also commendable is the Perth Festival’s decision to supply free programs to so many events this year. A single fold sheet that gives exactly the right information makes a reviewer’s work much easier, and also makes it easier for audiences to get the information they need to enjoy the production.
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Daksha Sheth Dance Company presents
Shiva Shakti
Direction, Lighting and Stage Design: Devissaro
Choreography: Daksha Sheth and Isha Sharvani
Music: Devissaro and Tao Issaro
Sound Design: Yakzan Periera
Regal Theatre, Perth
25 – 28 February
Perth Festival 2013
www.perthfestival.com.au
8 February – 2 March
