Based on the South Indian classical dance (Bharatanatyam) item, “Alaripu.”

Choreographic arrangement of Alaripu for the camera: Cherie Sampson.

Version of Alaripu choreographed by: Prasanna Kasthuri, Soorya Performing Arts, St. Louis, MO. USA.

“Solkattu” (rhythmic recitation): Cherie Sampson.  (A traditional solkattu for “Alaripu” with slight variations by the artist for the production.) 

Video & Audio Post-production: Cherie Sampson

Camera: Brian Smith (RIP, dear Brian), Daniel Kelly, Cherie Sampson

Costume Design: Kerri Packard

One of the first dances traditionally learned in the classical South Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam, Alaripu is a meditative opening up of mind and body in preparation for the rigors of the dance practice and presentation.  Alaripu means “blossom” in the Tamil language and there are many versions of the dance, however, all follow a similar, basic structure. In this screendance work, a three-beat, or “Tishra Alaripu” is danced throughout the environment of an apple orchard during a springtime bloom, connecting the symbolic essence of the dance with the burgeoning and intoxicating life force of the ephemeral peak days of the orchard bloom. The film opens with a gradual transition from winter into spring, followed by the dancing of Alaripu itself, dissected and reconstructed with multiple perspectives of its movements, including close-ups of mudras (hand gestures) and footwork.  Dance images are cut with illustrative diagrams of archival orchard-layout plans and bud/blossom anatomy cutaways. Juxtapositions of the dancer and biological imagery create tripartite montages, alluding to the 3-beat metric of the dance.

SCREENINGS & EXHIBITIONS:

• “Dance & Ecology” Invited screening of the film at the National Choreographic Center of Montpelier, FRANCE. Partnership w/ Festival International de Vidéo Danse de Bourgogne. 2022. 
• Screendance Program, Curated by Marisa C. Hayes for the Freiburg Theater, Freiburg, Germany. 2019.
• Festival Internacional de Videoarte de Camagüey (FIVAC 2017) International Festival of Video Art - Camagüey, CUBA. 2017.
• It Ripens, 2016 Resident Artists Show, Group art exhibition. For Wormfarm Institute artist residence program. Woolen Mill Gallery, Reedsburg, WI. 2016.
• Quad State Biennale Exhibition, Juried group art exhibition. Quincy Art Center, Quincy, Illinois. 2015.
• Change Food Fest, Times Center, NEW YORK. Diane Hatz, Director. 2016.
• VideoBardo 6^th Festival Internacional de Videopoesia (International Festival of Video Poetry) National Library, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2016. 
• Numeridanse TV France, International online dance video library. A project of Maison de la danse, Lyon, France.  This piece was the debut feature work presented by Video Dance Center of Burgundy on Numeridanse TV.  2016. 
• Creative Edge Film Festival, Orpheum Theater, Fairfield, Iowa. 2016. 
• 6^th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival – 16. New Delhi, India. 2016. 
• Passport to India, Temple Gallery, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO. Screened as part of the Passport to India weekend festival at the museum. 2016.
• FIVC Off (Alternative Screen) Festival Internacional de Videodanza, Centro Cultural de España de Santiago, Chile. 2015.
• Official Selection, 3^rd Indian Cine Film Festival (ICFF) Mumbai, India. Jury Award for Best Music Video.
• Official Selection, “Politics of Space” International Video Dance Festival of Burgundy, LeCreusot, France. Presented a talk at the festival about the piece as well. 2015. 
• Official Selection, American Dance Festival’s Movies by Movers Dance Film Festival, Daniel Boone Native Gardens, Boone, North Carolina. 2015.
• Official Selection Citizen Jane Film Festival. Stephens College, Columbia, Missouri. Dance on Film Program. 2015.
• 7^th Annual St. Louis Indian Dance Festival, Soorya Performing Arts, Clayton, Missouri & Soorya Performing Arts, Los Angeles, CA. 2015.