Production

Hopscotch: The Game of Life


This unique dance ensemble aims at showcasing the formative years of a child through varied emotional phases of having dreams, seeking hope, discovering friendship & love, and although facing obstacles like experiencing jealousy that may lead to conflict, yet overruled by deep conscience of mind through remorse, resulting in ultimately spreading the message of unity and happiness in its ideal state!

Salutation to the Sun - Individual entities revel in the magnificence of the sun - the essence of life! Salutations are offered to the elements of life - fire, water, earth and air.  These in harmony with the universe creates within them them the vibrant human spirit.

Hopscotch -  This unique dance ensemble aims to showcase the emotional formative phases in a child's life.  The child seeks and 'hops' through, discovers, stumbles and falls through dreams, hopes, squashed expectations, jealousy, conflict, conscience and remorse!  Ultimately the soul finds and spreads the message of unity and happiness in its ideal state. 

Dream - A damsel is lost in her dream, the conscious and the unconscious meet, revel in a "perfect" world, natural beauty is admired, they dance in abandon  - leaving the dreamer in a blissful state of an 'awakened' mind. 

Hope - Dream leads to hope - as a soul is lost, on the verge of losing hope, hope herself arrives in a chiffon flash uplifting and encouraging.  Hope is then passed on to another bewildered soul - leading the path to a brighter future.

Bonding - Passing of hope leads to bonding - as individuals recognize their familiar similarities - the common human emotions makes it impossible for them not to be drawn to each other and revel in their 'oneness' of spirit - seemingly sincere! 

Jealousy - Three youngsters playing Hopscotch, one is clearly the winner - much to the envy of the other two -  the winner now becomes a victim of circumstance - the playground becomes a battlefield of ugly human emotion - leading to angry, conflictual states of mind.

Conflict - With further instigation -  suspicion and blame ensue  - egos flare, rage and frustration follow - the fight begins - vengeance and spite are obvious emotions.

Remorse - Oh, the pain, the hurt from such wasted energy spent in conflict, flying a kite or playing on a swing is now burdensome - conscience now controls - unadulterated sadness takes over - eventually leading to a "unified remorse."

Unity - In this last scene, all entities come to a realization that humankind is made of the good, bad and the ugly - that to attempt to unite -  to enjoy and revel in our similarities and differences could be one of the most important roles for us to play as human beings, for a more peaceful world! 

Credits

Performance,Concept and Choreography,Costume design: Artists of Suryasutra

Story idea,Costume styling: Nita Mallya

Music editing, Poster/Website/Program design: Shreelina Ghosh

Narration/Scene Script: Padma Aking

Poetry: Radhika Kotwal

Photography: Anil Mallya

Narrator: Rupanjana Sengupta

Mask: Shubada Sahasrabudhe

Recording/Additional background music: Qais Essar

Music credits: Suryashtakam by Sacred Chants, Harmony of the Hearts by Dr. L. Subramaniam, Kandisa by Indian Ocean, Little Krishna by Bickram Ghosh, Strums & Drums by Rahul Sharma, Chanchal by Ganesh & Kumaresh, Language of Innocence by Bickram Ghosh, Rajasthani Folk Fusion by Kamlesh Deepak Drolia, Tribe of Zeba by Bickram Ghosh, Saaz By Armaan Ali Murtaza and Asatoma Sadgamaya by Shankar Mahadevan.