The dance of emotions

The Attakkalari India Biennial caravan continues in its stride, slowly yet surely. Heeding caution to the rising numbers of COVID 19 cases in the city, the contemporary movement and digital arts festival has rehauled it’s schedule and will be hosting most of its events virtually this month. And so for those who are looking for alternative forms of entertainment, the upcoming days have quite a bit in store in terms of dance films, interactive installations and an intensive as well.

Carmen by the Agudo Dance Company is a dramatic adaptation of Prosper Merimée’s classic novella of the same name written in 1845. Centred on its feisty and impassioned heroine, this production attempts to deliver a tale where human motives and emotions are on a collision course. A love story essentially, Carmen unravels the complex exchange between conformity and freedom. Set to an original Flamenco-infused by Bernhard Schimpelsberger and additional track by Kefaya, Carmen is a story ultimately about individuality, freedom, love, pleasure and the belief that this journey of twists and turns we call life is always valuable.

Jose Agudo is a renowned contemporary dancer with roots in Flamenco dancing. He has performed in dance companies across Europe including Charleroi/Danses Ballet de Marseille, T.R.A.S.H, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance and Akram Khan Company. He trained in Kathak under Akram Khan in 2011 and assisted Khan in several productions such as Desh, Torobaka, Until the Lions, Chotto Desh and the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games. In 2021, Jose was included in the new edition of 50 Contemporary Choreographers, an international publication by Routledge. He founded Agudo Dance Company with Claire Cunningham in 2017.