← Back to feed · Map

Anna Pavlova in India

Фото 1
Pavlova always showed interest in national dances and sought to learn as much as possible about them. However, in India, her attempts were unsuccessful: to all her questions, she received one answer, the Indian classical dance has disappeared.

Nevertheless, before leaving India, she was fortunate to witness an Indian wedding ceremony. Inspired by this spectacle, Pavlova decided that it should become part of her repertoire in a theatrical form.

The future ballet performance was titled "Indian Wedding." Work on it began shortly after Pavlova returned to London. She faced a challenging task: to create a dance that reflected the spirit and traditions of India, as well as to prepare traditional costumes, decorations, and musical accompaniment.

London museums were used for immersion in the theme. Details of the wedding ceremony and costumes were sought in the Victoria and Albert Museum, while engravings of Indian landscapes for the decorations were selected at the British Museum.

The most difficult part was choosing the music. However, here too Pavlova was lucky: she met composer and performer of Indian melodies Komolata Bannerji, whose performances in London coincided with the work on the performance. At Pavlova's request, Bannerji not only selected a melody for "Wedding" but also recommended a young Indian dancer, Uday Shankar.

Shankar's participation brought new impulses and colors to the project. He took on the staging of not only "Wedding" but also another ballet on an Indian theme, "Krishna and Radha." He also proposed ideas for stage costumes made from real Indian fabrics and became Pavlova's partner in both performances. This marked the beginning of his successful artistic career.

Another production with Indian flavor was "Ajanta Frescoes," created after visiting the cave complex of the same name.

Pavlova admitted that she enjoyed dancing Indian dances. In India, her experiments were successful, while in Europe, the reaction was more restrained. Nevertheless, the ballet "Krishna and Radha" remained in Pavlova's troupe repertoire until her death.

Geo point

Анна Павлова в Индии

Comments