Coaching Krishna

>> Parul Gupta of Infusion Dance Studios keeps Indian tradition alive—and on its toes

MASALA OF MOVES: Infusion dancers

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

“Indian classical dance is a tradition that’s approximately 4,000 years old, a very old tradition, and I think that for the most part, the community has done a good job of keeping it intact,” says Parul Gupta, founder of Montreal’s Infusion Dance Studios. “There’s a great environment for it here in Canada, but there’s also a subculture that’s grown ever since the massive migration of Indians to Canada, about 30 years ago in the ’70s. You can look at it as Indo-Canadians being a minority in Canada, but you can look at it as, we’re distinctly Canadian, and our culture takes pieces from both. We need art forms to reflect this culture.”

Gupta’s certainly stepped up to the plate in that respect. Her dance school offers courses in Indian contemporary and Indian fusion dance, styles she’s developed by incorporating modern, external elements like hip hop and jazz—thus keeping the traditions of her heritage moving like a river, rather than static like a stagnant pool. She explains Indian contemporary as “a little more geared to dancers interested in technique,” while Indian fusion “still has a technical element but less so, it’s a little more choreography-based.”

Technique is everything to Gupta, who’s been studying and performing Indian classical and folk dance since the age of five. Though she’s earned degrees in molecular biology, the antics of single-celled organisms never stoked her passion the way dance did, and eventually, she had to make a call. “It just occurred to me that it was what I wanted to spend all of my time doing. It was becoming tough to manage, and I couldn’t give my best to either world.”

The decision paid off. Gupta now has contributions to two Cirque du Soleil productions to her credit, the opening celebration of the brand-new Kooza and, prior to that, the Beatles celebration Love—it was of course a George Harrison song, “Here Comes the Sun,” that demanded her expertise.

“That whole scene is based on Hindu philosophy,” says Gupta, “which Harrison was very interested in. It’s dedicated to Krishna and his gopis. They had a scene set up, and I had to bring the Indian movement and flavour to that scene, so there’s a lot of yoga and Krishna consciousness—it’s a very spiritual scene. So I added to the choreography and coached Krishna and the gopis.”

Infusion Dance Studios also offer courses in Bollywood (the dance-heavy Indian cinema) and bhangra (the punchy Punjabi disco sound) dance, though Gupta hands those classes over to guest teachers and focuses on her own styles, with appropriate music by Talvin Singh, Nitin Sawhney and such. Gupta’s tastes and technique will be on display at the Pure Bhangra party this weekend. It’s a fundraiser for the Old Brewery Mission and Asha, a literacy-in-India group, featuring stand-up comedy from Ali Hassan, selections care of DJ Guapo, samosas and pakoras to stuff your face with and a live set from Montrealers the Bilz (among Mirror’s 2007 Noisemakers), whose highly hybridized bhangra jams are the night’s centrepiece.

As for her troupe’s set, Gupta promises, “It’s going to be a mix, with different styles and clips from different songs. You could say we’re doing a fusion of Indian fusion!”

With the Bilz, DJ Guapo and Ali Hassan
at Club Lambi on Friday, April 27, 9 p.m.,
$10. For info on Infusion Dance Studios,
go to www.infusiondance.ca