Maasai energy meets Indian grace in cultural spectacle

Come February 18, it will be a cultural spectacle at the Alliance Francaise in Nairobi as the robust traditional Maasai dance style, and the subtle and intricate Indian Kathak routines are brought on stage.

Kenyan professional choreographer Anuang’a Fernando teams up with Indian classical and traditional dancer Jaya Pachuari to present a rare dance show that fuses Indian dance style Kathak and the African Maasai dance. The exposition is rightly dubbed Fusion Indo Maasai.

Kathak, the Indian classical dance norm, is basically a storytelling medium where the performer with the help of facial expressions, body movement and footwork illuminates a story or Katha in a rather subtle manner.

Temple ritual

The dance is performed straight-legged and the ankle bells (ghungroos) worn by the performer are adeptly controlled.

Primarily the mode of dancing was a temple ritual but over a period it was altered to the royal courts for the entertainment of Mughal and Persian rulers of India.

The dance has its vibrant and energetic moments and the dancer relies on instrumental vocal and percussion backing to tell a mythological tale or a sensual story about love and passion, with great charm.

The Maasai dance on the other hand is a unique traditional exposition where spiritual feelings and rituals of a people come into play like fertility, coming of age, the festivities of joy and laments at times of sorrow.

Traditionally there is no instrument or percussion for back-up, but the voices, the feet and the ornaments worn by the dancer provide rhythm to regulate the performance.

The performer shows his enthusiasm inside a human circle where each one comes to jump as high as possible. The more the singing and dancing, the more the performer goes into a trance.

The two performers at the Fusion Indo Maasai are masters in their own right. Anuang’a aka Maasai dancer is from Kenya. He made his debut as a dancer way back in 1990 and danced with the group Rare Watts.

He has represented Kenya in many official and popular dance and fashion extravaganzas in South Africa, Seychelles and Reunion Islands and has also appeared in numerous dance expos in France. At home he has performed at the Godown Art Centre and at Alliance Francaise.

Jaya Pachuari hails from Jaipur in India. A trained and professional dancer she specialises in the art of Kathak dancing but has practised folk dance of Gujarat as well.

She has lived and performed in France since 1999 and has participated in numerous spectacles, including in Re Union and Tunisia. As a professor at the University of Avignon she lectured on dance. Jaya now lives in Mauritius where she hopes to set up a dance institution.

Fusion Indo Maasai was created in France last year and performed successfully at the Festival Avignon. However, it is the first time a fusion experiment of this nature is being undertaken in Kenya.

Of special interest is the fact that Indian Kathak and Maasai dance styles are different in content and execution. How would Anuang’a evolve and fuse their spiritual and ritual aspects for the subtleties and intricate movements of Kasha and the vibrant and wanton energy of the Malaysia dance to be seen?

The spectacle promises to be great fun and a learning experience. It will bring together two Kenyan communities culturally. Later, Anuang’a and Jaya plan to travel to Burundi, Namibia and Uganda.