Dance Review: The Indian-American Sa Dance Company

The audience is hushed – all focus is on the stage. Then into the silent darkness, a brilliant scarlet back wall is illuminated with female figures appearing like shadow puppets hanging loose before the puppeteer animates them. The wailing music begins, and the lights go up, revealing dancers in electric-colored and stylized Indian costumes with exposed midriff, bare feet, and lots of arm movements.

More dancers, each in a different electric-colored dress, pour onto the stage, gyrating and moving in well-formed patterns to the music. This is how RISE begins – depicting the stages of womanhood in the circle of life.

The all-female Sa Dance Company was founded in 2008 by visionary dancer, Payal Kadakia Pujji. Although born and raised in America, Payal’s passion is to build awareness of Indian dance and culture, more specifically the role of Indian women in society. They performed in New York City this month at New York Live Arts on West 19th Street.

Payal calls on all styles of Indian and Western dance, accompanied by musical forms that blend Indian folk tunes with music as diverse as Lady Gaga, Adele, Mohammed Asiam, and many others into one seamless whole organized by Music Composer Niraj Chag.

The company’s name “Sa” springs from Indian classical music, in which Sa is both the first and last note of the octave. So too, RISE showcases the trials, tribulations, and joys of a woman’s life from the beginning through the end.

Payal has choreographed much more than a dance company. Her storytelling unfolds with poetic voiceovers, sharing personal stories of joy, grief, and survival, along with computer animation that illustrates the stories and supplements her dynamic dance formations and layered choreography.

It’s notable that all of the 10 dancers have been trained in Western dance, including ballet, contemporary, and jazz, as well as all forms of Indian dance, including Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Bhangra, and Garba. Frankly, I don’t know the difference between them, but what I’m familiar with are the specific movements normally associated with Indian dance, such as body snaking, head shaking, foot clapping, and finger positioning, along with exuberant energy and joy.

RISE is presented as a journey in four movements. Although envisioned as a tale of the Indian woman’s journey, it’s in fact a journey that all women share. After the effervescent opening numbers of color, light, and youthful high energy, a voice spoke off-stage the words of Indian-Canadian poet Rupi Kaur regarding feminine responsibility.

Dancers returned to the stage in costumes more subtle and darker, indicating the growing responsibility of the child. The background colors changed to reflect the feelings that were conveyed. One of the dancers took front stage, acting out her anguish at having been born with a disability and how it initially damaged but ultimately shaped her life. It was a story many in the audience could relate to, including this author.

We heard Deepa Narayan speak in one of her TED Talk series of how Indian women are taught to behave and fit into society for the good of the family. They’re taught not to have dreams, not to aspire, and not to reach for their personal heights. This was acted out in dance patterns with swirling skirts and mesmerizing hand movements.

We also heard from Usha Patel, Payal’s first dance teacher and guiding light from the age of three years old. She was sitting in the audience just in front of me, and I could only imagine her happiness at seeing what her student has created. When I asked her about it, her face lit up.

I also had the pleasure of sitting next to a lovely young woman named Melanie Chandra, a previous Sa Company dancer. She was there with her own two young beautiful daughters, introducing them to their cultural birthright.

I must tell you about the costumes, which were created by Payal in collaboration with Shilpa Patel, Jillian Lewis, and AmbiKa “B” Sanjana. The lighting by Christopher Chambers, along with the costumes, enhanced the drama of each of the dances.

But the costumes were more than just accessories. They told their own story. The skirts were engineered to move so that when the dancers twirled, their skirts became airborne to expose thigh tights, color coordinated with each outfit. When asked about this in the after-performance talk, Payal revealed that each skirt consists of 32 triangles to give it the lift required.

The costumes that took my breath away were the blue outfits worn to illustrate the third dance presented: Tu Jhoom-The Stories of Us. The back wall was a soft sky blue, and one lone dancer was kneeling front stage, dressed in the de rigueur two-piece traditional Indian style in the same blue as the wall. Above her exposed midriff, the fitted top had long sleeves with one shoulder exposed and a design in shimmering silver that looked like a bird in flight.

The skirt was long with layered sheets of diaphanous fabric over loose-fitting trousers, which made for a stunning effect. The other dancers soon appeared dressed in the same diaphanous skirt, but the tops were variations on a theme with each slightly different but beautiful. The ensemble dancing was precise with studied head, hand, and feet movements in perfect synchronization in the best tradition of Indian dance.

RISE is deeply emotional – a full-length dance that must be experienced for its relevance in the life of every woman. While the names might be a bit difficult for the American audience, the performers deserve to be mentioned.

The company features Roshni Badlani, Rashi Birla, Radhika Mehta Kirpalani, Nitya Srikishen Lakhi, Bhavika Kapadia Patel, Dhruti Patel, Juhi Patel, Kesar Patel, Neha Pathmanaban, Payal Kadakia Pujji, Sharanya Mukhopadhyay Sekhri, Manisha Nair Sokka.

RISE is a captivating, mesmerizing work that embraces acting, storytelling, dancing, graphics, and deep emotional insight.