Two dance companies unite for Eye on India performance

Two dance companies unite for Eye on India performance.

Two dance companies from different cultures and with dissimilar styles are uniting to present, "The Incomplete Gesture."

Natya Dance Theatre, a Chicago-based Indian dance company, and Nan Jombang, an Indonesian dance company, are presenting the work at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie on Oct. 1 as part of the 6th annual Eye on India Chicago. The festival of contemporary and traditional Indian culture runs from Sept. 15-Oct. 2 at a number of Chicago area venues.

"There are so many incongruences in relationships nowadays," said Hema Rajagopalan, founder and artistic director of Natya Dance Theatre. "We are not able to communicate. We are so much on text messages and email. People don't have the time to talk in person. And even when they do talk in person, sometimes messages are taken in the wrong sense and that leads to misunderstandings."

Those miscommunications can result in relationship problems, disputes between cultures and even wars, Rajagopalan believes. Her dance company addresses these issues in "The Incomplete Gesture."

The piece consists of two episodes. The first, a humorous one is about a love triangle. "It is an amusing misunderstanding," Rajagopalan said.

The second episode is about a woman who is misunderstood by her stonehearted husband after she gives into the advances of a man who is impersonating her spouse.

Composer Doug Lofstrom is creating the score for the dance concert. One of the Nan Jombang's dancers will sing during the performance.

Natya's artistic director initially connected with Nan Jombang through Facebook. "I 'liked' a particular post that somebody had put up," she explained. "I liked their movement vocabulary."

That started a conversation between the two companies. "We are two different cultures, two different religions — they're Muslims and we are Hindus. We are so wide apart. They are somewhere near Sumatra in Indonesia and we are in the United States," Rajagopalan noted.

Despite those differences, Rajagopalan related, the two companies began "reaching out to each other." That led to the creation of "The Incomplete Gesture."

Angga Mefri, who speaks a limited amount of English, praised Rajagopalan for combining her company's traditional dance style with Nan Jombang's contemporary dance movements, which are based on Indonesian martial art, to create a contemporary work.

The dance styles of the two companies are as different as their backgrounds.

"Ours is based on a 3,000-year-old treatise called Natya Sastra," Natya's artistic director explained. It features rhythmic footwork and abstract arm movements. Emotional content is expressed through the body, the face and hand gestures.

On the other hand, Nan Jombang's rhythm is created through clapping, Rajagopalan reported. "They clap on their bodies and on their costumes," she said.

Despite the many differences between the two companies in terms of their backgrounds and styles, Rajagopalan believes it is a good collaboration because they share "the passion to connect." And that's what "The Incomplete Gesture" is all about.

'The Incomplete Gesture'

What: A collaboration between Natya Dance Theatre and Nan Jombang

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1

Where: North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie

Tickets: $20-$38

Information: (847) 673-6300; www.northshorecenter.org