| Dominique Delorme
A soul-searching trip to India
in 1983 sparked Dominique’s interest in the people and culture of India.
On his return to France in 1985, he started learning Bharata Natyam from
Malavika (a Paris based Bharata Natyam dancer). In 1987, with a scholarship
from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ICCR (Indian Council
for Cultural Relations), he pursued his advanced training under Guru V.S.
Muthuswamy Pillai in Chennai. Simultaneously, he received training in ‘abhinaya’
from Kalanidhi Narayanan and Anuradha Jagannathan, in Carnatic vocal music
from Sulochana Pattabiraman and in nattuvangam from Kamala Rani of Kalakshetra.
In 1989, Dominique started working under Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam on the
Natya Shastra. In 2000, he was awarded the prestigious ‘Villa Medicis
Hors Les Murs’ and the ‘Romain Rolland’ fellowships by the French Government
to continue his research on Natya Shastra.
Following his Arangetram in
1990, Dominique continued to perform solo throughout India, Malaysia, Singapore,
Western Europe, West Indies and now in the US. He played Narada in ‘Krishnam
Vande Jagathgurum’ choreographed by Sudharani Raghupathy and Shiva in ‘Natya
Shastra Avataranam’ by Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam. |
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His first solo
production ‘Nandanar’ toured India and Europe and received critical acclaim
and has become his masterpiece. He continued his creative efforts with
‘Seeds of Light’ (1991) with Shakuntala and ‘Skin Deep’ (1995-96) in collaboration
with Kalpana, both French Bharata Natyam dancers. ‘Dance with the Gods!’
(1997) and ‘Ardhanareeswara’ (2002) with Malavika were productions that
have also toured Europe and India. Dominique along with a Tango, contemporary,
hip-hop and West Indian slave dancer made up ‘The Migrators’ who explored
a poem by Damas, a West Indian poet in their own dance vocabulary. The
production titled ‘Black Label’ toured France, West Indies and S. America
from 1999-2002.
As he continues performing,
he regularly conducts classes and workshops in France, Germany and Austria.
‘Shiva Karanas’ premiered in 2001 and this is his second visit to the USA. |
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