East Meets West In Natya & Mordine’s Pushed To The Edge

By Michelle Meywes Kopeny in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 11, 2012 4:20PM

Mixing Indian and modern styles isn’t the first thing we would think of when hearing "dance collaboration." After all, the two disciplines couldn’t be much more different. Indian dance moves with the body on a vertical plane, much like ballet, while modern is much less restricted, moving across all planes. That's what makes Pushed to the Edge such a unique partnership. In the piece, it is much like the two disciplines are speaking to each other, learning from each other. We “never intended to fuse,” states Shirley Mordine, artistic director of Mordine & Co., “we interact, we connect.”

Pushed to the Edge is the fourth collaboration, but first feature length, between Mordine and Natya Dance Theatre’s Hema Rajagopalan. The work is inspired by Bengali Rabindranath Tagore’s poem, “Where the Mind is Without Fear,” whose text will also be incorporated into the performance (Though better known for his writing, Nobel Laureate Tagore’s paintings are currently on exhibit in The Last Harvest, ending Sunday at the Art Institute). “The work explores the complex process by which humans move from one cultural environment to another,” says Rajagopalan, “which often includes leaving behind loved ones, a fear of rejection and being marginalized, misunderstandings, the need to be heard and, ultimately, finding common ground. It is literally about being ‘pushed to the edge,’ the prize of which is perspective, comprehension and equality.”

Another unique aspect of Pushed to the Edge is instead of first choosing music to choreograph to, composers instead write for the already completed dance. Up for the challenge are Indian musician Chitrivina Ravikiran and jazz saxophonist George Brooks, who arrived in town last week to complete the work. Adding to the intrigue will be live segments of improvisation, on both the dancers’ and orchestra’s part.

The one-night-only performance of Pushed to the Edge is this Saturday night at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts (9501 Skokie Boulevard). Tickets are $30 to $38.