Nirmala
DANCER-CHOREOGRAPHER
IN THE INDIAN TRADITION
NIRMALA, classical dancer in the Indian tradition,
was trained in Bharatanatyam by the great masters of this
art : V.S. Muthuswamy Pillai, M.K. Saroja and Malavika.
Her style, marked by the teaching of the great masters, evokes
through her dance the statuary of temples in the gracious
and swaying forms, which characterize them, enhanced by the
power of her mudras, the language of the hands.
Nirmala, the pioneer of bharatanatyam in Marseilles, is reputed
for the richness and the precision of her abhinaya, dance
theatre and her great rhythmic virtuosity.
In May 1992, Nirmala created,
in collaboration with Patrick Gleyse, ARABESQUES & MUDRAS,
Indo-European Ballet. In this company, Nirmala works as a
performer and choreographer, and manages dancers and musicians.
Nirmala and Patrick Gleyse give a new direction to indian
dance by pushing back the limits of this style without losing
its traditional character, and by bringing in the new of an
Indo-European Ballet.
"She possesses the rigor… and that very special grace
which is the hallmark of the sacred dance of India…"
L'air théâtral, Avignon 1998
Nirmala founded "ANJALI FROM INDIA", Dance from India,
an artistic and cultural association where she teaches and conducts
workshops in Bharatanatyam, and created her first traditional
shows which were performed in the international festivals at Aquila,
Madrid, Edinburgh, Avignon and Damas…
Her creations include :
A MEETING WITH THE GODS, Théâtre du Gymnase, Marseilles
TRADITIONAL RECITAL, Mylapore Fine Arts Society, Madras
PADUKHA, DIVINE FEET, théâtre du Gymnase, Marseille
CREATION, Festival of Sacred Dance, Avignon
WHAT THE STARS DANCE, with the narrator Jean Guillon, Avignon
In september 1998, Nirmala was invited
with Patrick Gleyse and musicians from Madras to the festivals
"Sacred Musics of the World" and "Dances in
the twilight" of the Conseil Général des
Bouches du Rhône to perform the piece "Dances of
the Temples of South India". In january 1999, together,
they participated at the international Festival of madras
and opened the "Indo-French Dance Festival" at Nasik,
a district of Bombay. They were welcomed into the great temples
of South India, the Kapaleeshwara in Madras, at Kumbakonam
and in Tanjore to dance in the traditional style accompanied
by their musicians, under the aegis of the "Art and Culture
Department" of Tamil Nadu.
In July/August 2001, Nirmala was invited with Patrick Gleyse,
by the Director of the "Alliance Française de Madras"
for an artistic workshop during which they conducted an experimental
work with Bharatanatyam dancers, a work based on the Indo-European
creations of the company.
