October 15
Te Whare O Rukutia
Dunedin Arts Festival
In the faintest flicker of the eyes a story of suppression and servitude is shared.
Dancer Swaroopa Prameela Unni delivers a mighty message through movement in solo dance theatre piece Atete — to Resist.
Expressed through Indian dance style Mohiniyattam, Unni gives glimpses of the price paid by women who are expected to conform to traditional expectations of feminine subservience.
The picture perfect image of female allure is shattered as dark forces of violence against women is illustrated with ragged splashes of paint.
Lighting design by Stephen Kilroy casts shifting shadows of her moving form to create an ephemeral ensemble dancing asone.
Music by Indian composers Jyolsna Panicker and Sandeep Pillai incorporates ancient and modern influences that merge and mutate in subtle ways.
Unni subverts the stereotyped representation of women and identity depicted in popular forms such as Bollywood movies.
Instead she shapes a dialogue in dance with the audience that encourages a deeper understanding of the price of sexual subjugation and celebrates women the world over who work to overthrow the tyranny of misogyny.
