Dance has been the carrier of my thoughts: Astad Deboo
Dance has been the carrier of my thoughts: Astad Deboo | India Today Insight
In a career spanning four decades, Astad Deboo, the late dance maestro, introduced India to a unique technique, a fusion of several classical styles
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Dancing legend Astad Deboo (Ritam Banerjee)
The demise of Astad Deboo, 73, is a monumental loss to the world of Indian contemporary dance. His movement vocabulary, which he described as “meditative and minimalist”, was an amalgamation of his many influences. It was also distinctly his own. There were elements of Kathak, which he learned from Guru Prahlad Das in Kolkata; the theatricality of Kathakali, which came from his three-year stint with Guru E. Krishna Panicker in Kerala; and whirling, one of the most awe-inspiring aspects of his dance, which Deboo said he discovered in a discotheque in Mexico.
Astad Deboo Danced His Way Into Hearts Across the World
Deboo is now a well-known name, but it had been a long struggle in trying to make sponsors and audiences understand modern dance.
Astad Deboo dancing on the steps of the Asiatic Gallery, Mumbai. Photo: Instagram/astaddeboo
One of Astad Debooâs biggest grouses used to be that whenever he approached potential sponsors for money for his performances or his projects, they invariably asked him, âWhat is modern dance?â To them, the arts worth funding were classical Indian music, theatre and all the traditional dance forms â they understood those things; modern dance was an alien concept, one they could not figure out.