CriticalDance Forum

<P><BR>Here is a treat for SF Bay Area dance enthusiasts. Writes Anita Amirrezvani of AD Yasmen Sorab Mehta and her California Contemporary Dancers who will be performing at the Theater Artaud 8/11-18:<P><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Of course, modern dance companies often use snippets of movement from other cultures -- tango, flamenco and European folk dance are especially common. But Mehta -- whose company celebrates its 10th anniversary with performances this weekend and next in San Francisco -- creates a more extensive fusion. In a piece called "Mala," for example, she mixed modern dance with bharata natyam, an ancient devotional dance style from India -- and added Tuvan music for good measure.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><B><A HREF="http://ae.zip2.com/sjmercury/scripts/staticpage.dll?only=y&spage=AE/onstage/onstage_details.htm&id=66760&owhere=Bay+Area&owhen=%2b1000&ver=e2.7" TARGET=_blank>Click here for the full article</A></B>

I'm encouraged by her having found dance late and still persevered to go on and found her own company. I'd be interested to see how well her various intercultural elements blend.

And here's a review by the SF Bay Guardian's Rita Felciano:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>TO CELEBRATE THE 10th anniversary of her California Contemporary Dancers, Yasmen Sorab Mehta invited other Bay Area artists who, like her, are strongly committed to one tradition but open to new interpretations. Mehta was born in Bombay but received her dance training in the West; though her work is thematically rooted in her Indian heritage, her dance language is decidedly modern.<P>FatChanceBellyDance, Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu, Mehta, and Bharata Natyam dancer Vidhya Subramanian enter the intersection of past and current dance styles from a different angle: they present traditional movement in a decidedly contemporary context – one of the most promising trends in Bay Area dance. Coincidentally, all three employ, in a similar fashion, expressive torsos, grounded weight through bent knees, little travel in space, and none in the air.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><B><A HREF="http://www.sfbg.com/AandE/34/46/imperfect.html" TARGET=_blank>Read the full article</A></B>