INTERVIEW: Urja Desai Thakore on Pagrav Dance's new work Kattam Katti

I met with Urja Desai Thakore of UK-based Asian dance company, Pagrav Dance, to talk about their new work Kattam Katti. 

Kattam Katti is inspired by the chaos, colour and competition of India's world famous Uttarayan kite festival. The work is performed by four UK-based dancers of Asian heritage who interact with four live musicians playing a specially written score. Together they bring the fun, creativity and colour of the event to life with drama, enchanting lyricism and exquisite technique. In our interview, Urja talks about the inspiration behind Kattam Kati, the creative process and how the work intersects politically with current society.

Photo Credit: Chris Nash

Maya Pindar: Kattam Katti explores the Uttarayan kite festival in Gujarat, India. Can you tell us a bit about Uttarayan?

Urja Desai Thakore: Uttarayan (the Gujarati name for the Hindu Sun Festival) is a major festival that takes place every January in the west Indian state of Gujarat to mark the transition from winter into spring. The Festival lasts for two days, but people prepare for and celebrate it from December onwards. 

Millions of people from different cities, religions and social classes come together to fly kites, and the aim is to fly your kite higher than anybody else’s. Gujarati people keenly await the festival to fly their kites, called patang. These are made of special light-weight paper and bamboo and are mostly rhombus shaped with a central spine and a single bow. 

In major Gujurati cities like Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Jamnagar the skies are filled with literally thousands upon thousands of colourful kites. It is a wonderfully joyous event; but it’s also ruthlessly competitive and competitors often coat their kite strings with abrasive glass pigment that while beautiful on the surface, will cut the strings of other kites. When people cut any kites they yell Gujurati exclamations like kaypo chhe, e lapet, jaay jaay, phirki vet phirki and lapet lapet. 

There are also special festival dishes including Undhyun (spicy, baked mix of winter vegetables) and chikkis, made from sesame seeds, peanuts and jaggery. 

Photo Credit: Chris Nash

MP: What can we expect from Kattam Katti?

UDT: Kattam Katti is an exquisite piece of modern dance theatre, rooted in the Indian Kathak dance tradition, that tells the story of a family celebrating the kite festival. The variations in the types of kite are paralleled with different characters in the family and tales of competition, danger, excitement and unity are vividly brought to life. Whilst transporting the audience to the chaos, creativity and colour of Uttarayan it also explores and highlights the socio-economical hierarchy and inequalities present in society.

I created it as a neo-classical work with a distinctly contemporary feel developed out of the Kathak dance-classical Indian tradition. It is performed by eight performers - four dancers and four musicians. The musicians play their specially composed music live and are integral to the show as they move around the dancers and interact with them.

MP: Can you tell us about the creative process in the development of Kattam Katti?

UDT: In traditional Kathak dance, Nritta (the technical part) and Nritya (the expressional part) are very separate, whereas in the work I am creating this intertwines and becomes one. When I was learning, my Guru (teacher), Kumudini Lakhia, always taught me to think outside the box and to ask questions. This has been at the heart of the creative process for Kattam Katti. I believe it’s easier to break the boundaries once one has learned them. Every time my boundaries are pushed I try to extend that borderline and challenge the art form. As well as being an important part of my creative processes I believe we should be constantly evolving in order for the art form to thrive. 

Kattam Katti has gone through two R&D phases and after 3 years we have reached this creative phase. The idea was first discussed and explored with the dancers and musicians, and once we finalised the ‘dance language’ I introduced dramaturgy, lights and sets. I have been extremely fortunate to have a great team of creative and innovative collaborators and artists around me. We set ourselves challenges and are always keen to think differently and try new ideas and approaches. 

Photo Credit: Chris Nash

MP: How does the music help shape the storytelling in the work?

UDT: Kattam Katti doesn’t’t use the traditional way of formal composed music. The musicians were in the space with the dancers and are part of the story rather than separate artists creating a sound score. They played along with movement and developed the music that way. This sort of interaction with the dancers has been a tradition of South Asian dance for many years and I have sought to involve them in the space so that their music is responsive to the movement and story. We are also restricting ourselves from using the traditional instruments used in the Kathak form. 

MP: Uttarayan reveals some of the inequalities and division in modern society. How important do you think is it that that we talk about these issues through dance?

UDT: Through my observation of societies around the world I found a lot of similarity in the way Uttarayan is celebrated and day to day life. How the privileged have an easy road to success (with their high terraces, those with large houses or exclusive penthouse flats have a head start in the battle to fly their kites the highest) compared to someone struggling to reach to the basic level by flying their kites from ground level.

By using dance to show how these inequalities exist we can help to put our point over in a colourful and entertaining way and illustrate that such inequalities exist, but when it comes to time of celebration or tragedy we can unite. Other choreographers such as Rhiannon Faith are also using dance to highlight inequalities in society, demonstrating the continuing relevance of dance from around the world as a dynamic art form.

Photo Credit: Chris Nash

MP: Kattam Katti is for everyone - can you tell us a bit about its relevancy to audiences?

UDT: I believe the show will appeal to people of all ages and from different backgrounds. On one level it is funny, colourful and interactive alongside the stories and social comment. The original music and virtuoso playing will appeal to those interested in World Music and I truly believe that there is something for anyone interested in dance and theatre. I’m creating Kattam Katti to be visually stunning and uplifting from a dance point of view with a story that is easy to follow and connect to, but also has a deeper relevance for those who wish to find it. 

MP: Pagrav Dance Company provides a platform for the next generation of dancers. How do works like Kattam Katti feed into Pagrav's commitment to nurturing young dancers?

UDT: I have always been a strong advocate of supporting young dancers, often local to my base in Milton Keynes. I have given platforms to emerging dancers, from Aakash Odedra in the 2008 show Baharan (now a renowned and award-winning artist who runs his own company) to the current cast of Kattam Katti - Saloni Saraf, Meera Patel, Parbati Chaudhury and Subhash Viman Gorania.

I strongly believe that in the UK there are many talented up and coming dancers, but what is lacking is the infrastructure for them to further their careers and pursue their dreams. There is a lack of professional development for dancers in a company setting. Thus for the first time we are including a development plan in this project. Each of the dancers will complete an appraisal at the end of the project and Pagrav Dance Company will provide a bespoke plan for each of them to develop their practice, both inside and outside of the company environment. The musicians are also British-born and Pagrav Dance Company are planning to offer ongoing career support to them too. 

MP: Finally, what one piece of advice would you offer young, aspiring Asian dancers?

UDT: There is no alternative to hard work, just keep believing in yourselves, work hard and be ready to take any opportunities that arrive, but don’t just wait for opportunities, create them for yourself.

Kattam Kati was scheduled to be premier at Sadler's Wells in May 2020, however due to Covid-19 the work will now go on stage at a later point, find out more here.