Dance of the Seasons (UK)

Dance of the Seasons (UK)
(41 min; 2023; Sanskrit & English)
Directed by G.D. Jayalakshmi who will introduce the film

Screening will be followed by a discussion

Dance of the Seasons deploys the Indian classical dance form, Bharatanatyam, to demand that we respect our earth and its climate. Based on an epic Sanskrit poem, Ritu Samhara (The March of the Seasons) by Kalidasa (circa 400AD), the award-winning dancer, Padmini Upadhya, communes with nature, becoming one with it.  This lies in sharp contrast with what is happening ecologically today. India’s six seasons of yester-year are evoked and juxtaposed strongly with today’s sad reality.  

The narrative inter-cuts with R S Pandit’s 1942 translation, created as he languishes in solitary confinement, fighting for Indian independence against British rule.