Choreographies of Scent:
A Libretto for Dance
Is
This space in between you and me
With woodpeckers peck pecking
And cuckoos cocooing
Their soft, sounds resounding
In ponds and coves and groves
The winds roamed the pillars and galleries
And the mother pine’s thick top trembled
Kneeling down with musk, you draw me
Over my pillars you stand
To see yourself in art
I am a parasol in your hand
Every time I hear a flutter
I imagine it’s you
Madly moved by a musky zest
I look all around for you
Tree scents make me shiver
Moon shafts waste me away
Anguished in your absence
I know not what to do
{Cut grass, Mint, Violette, Cedarwood, Amber …}
The poem precedes a dance inspired by Kalidasa’s Ritusamharam. The poem and the fragrance accompanying it are on permanent display at Centro de Arte Moderna, Lisbon.
An Invitation to Dance. By Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan.
The libretto below is the dance that accompanies the creation of a fragrance. A part of it was choreographed by Guru Mandakini Trivedi in January 2021.
Rise from slumber
Parrot walking
Parrot talking
Parrot walking
Seeing the forest in bursts of colour
Moving in a semicircle
Still walking
Seeing the forest in bursts of colour
Completing the semicircle
Jumping and Scenting
Jump and smell on the palm
See the fragrance in the air
Smell the fragrance in the air
Smell the fragrance in the air
Smell the fragrance in the air
Seeing Colours and Growth
Seeing colours—red and white—of the flowers in the forest
Seeing colours—red and white—of the flowers in the forest
Growing in the air
Trees shooting up in the air (Soochi Mudra)
Flowers blooming left and right
Flowers blooming left and right
Thick treetops of banyan trees
Thick treetops of banyan trees
Creepers
Creepers
Creepers
Waves in the river left to right
And the river moves
Lotus Swaying
Lotus swaying on right side (slow)
Lotus swaying on left side (slow)
Lotus swaying on right and left (faster)
(Torso movements)
Lotus swaying on left and right (faster)
(Torso movements)
Bees and Honey
Bees buzzing on the floor
On the ground in the shape of an 8
Bees buzzing on the floor
On the ground in the shape of an 8
Bees buzzing on the ground
Bees on the tree
Bees on the tree up
Bees on the tree down
Honey in the quiver
Throw quiver off the shoulder
Offering and Fragrance
Offer lotus in (Alapadma and Kapittha)
Pluck lotus and bring it closer to smell
(Alapadma and Kapittha)
Point at the (Alapadma)
Alapadma and enjoyment of its smell
By Katakamukha and Samdamsha
Bring the hands in (Kapota)
Throw the Kapota in the quiver
Walk and pluck a flower
Throw it in the quiver—the scent is unsuitable
Walk and pluck a flower
The fragrance is perfect
Desire Through Five Flowers
Stringing a garland
Throw it in the quiver
Getting up in (Aramandi)
Double hand (Katakamukha)
Finding a smell
Bringing it close
Like take a petal, crush it
Finding the blue lotus
Putting it on one shoulder
Putting it on another shoulder
Finds the arrow
Shooting it
Finale
I am smell
Credits:
An excerpt from the libretto: Alta, A Ballet in One Act with Perfumes as Protagonist
Music Parvesh Java Choreography Mandakini Trivedi Libretto Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan Photography Shivani Gupta
CHARACTERS Alchemist Adela Ortega Garzaran Islanders Ladies, Gentlemen and Children of the Audience Dancer 1 Shivani Gupta Perfumer and Dancer 2 Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan
RUNNING TIME Approx 25 mins, no interval 1 Act, 5 Scenes
Reproduced with permission from Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan
Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan
AJ Mallari straddles the confluence of product, space, and systems design as a consultant focusing on holistically outfitting design-led initiatives with heavy leanings on craft and artisanal production to reach their creative goals. He has worked across South and Southeast Asia facilitating workshops, teaching, conducting research, and managing creative interventions while ticking off a shortening list of must-see places. He recently moved to the Visayan Islands after finishing further studies in Belgium last year, he currently runs a start-up creative practice while teaching design at the local university.
AJ MallariAJ Mallari straddles the confluence of product, space, and systems design as a consultant focusing on holistically outfitting design-led initiatives with heavy leanings on craft and artisanal production to reach their creative goals. He has worked across South and Southeast Asia facilitating workshops, teaching, conducting research, and managing creative interventions while ticking off a shortening list of must-see places. He recently moved to the Visayan Islands after finishing further studies in Belgium last year, he currently runs a start-up creative practice while teaching design at the local university.
