Ashank - Contemporary Kalaripayattu

                                                                                    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY9dVDapDI8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-Sf5GIpU5Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L1zP1CqFps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_2IpvTgG78
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FptZg9NoTgQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xt4aBT5nmE

The approximately 400 year old medieval Vadakkan Pattukal, ( Ezhava fok songs ) is a collection of traditional stories and ballads from Kerala and is a beautiful example of folk poetry. It is also a valuable source of information about the structure and norms of medieval Malabar society. Set against the feudal backdrop of the day, the ballads are woven around legendary warriors, such as Thacholi Othenan, Aromal Chekavar, Kanappa Chekavar, Aromal Unni and even women warriors such as Unniarcha . The stories celebrated their exploits, physical prowess, mental and emotional strength, and above all, glorified a strict code of conduct and honour that they as warriors were governed by. All the heroes and heroines of the Vadakkan Pattukal were also skilled in the martial art form of Kalaripayattu, said by many to be the predecessor of many other martial forms such as Kung Fu, Wu Shu and Karate.

ASHANK ( Fearless)’ pays tribute to the qualities they posessed and the innate fighting spirit through the physical language of Kalaripayattu.

The performance takes collaboration between the traditional and modern onto three levels -

1. Inspiration from an ancient Malayalam text is placed in a contemporary, physical context.
2. Choreographic interaction between traditional Kalaripayattu artistes and Contemporary Dancers
3. A live music score that brings together contemporary and traditional musicians.

Here traditional Kalari artistes from Kerala, South India come together onstage with contemporary dancers and noted musicians to create a modern piece of theatrical martial art work that takes its source from diverse martial forms, including Capoeira, the Brazilian martial dance and elements from other martial art forms. The internationally acclaimed contemporary dancers have also trained in Kalaripayattu, acrobatics, gymnastics and various Indian classical dance forms and Ballet for many years and have performed at prestigious cultural festivals all over the world

Dramatic and authentic sparring with real weapons such as the Long Stick, Urumi ( deadly flexible sword and shield) and  Katara ( daggers),  Kuntham ( Spear) and sinuous Ottakol creates many visually exciting, breathless moments. The performance is accompanied by strong percussive beats ( Tabla, Mizhavu, Djembe) and rhythms (Electric Guitar ) by well known musicians from Bangalore and Kerala.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/31826/graceful-moves-coordinated-beats.html