Nrityageet -- Commemorating the arrival of East Indians to Guyana
NRITYAGEET - meaning pure music and dance, commemorates the arrival of Indian immigrants to Guyana. Various dances are done to depict the history, arrival and estate life of East Indians. The Shahs inherited this legacy of dance from their grandparents. One of the Shahs' grandmothers, Lachmina, came to Guyana in 1894 aboard the `Avon' number 68955. This is a very special year for Nrityageet, as the family celebrates its 21st anniversary and will be putting on a fitting production for the millennium to observe Indian Immigration Day. The show began at the National Cultural Centre last night and will continue through this weekend. How it started Although, Nadira made her debut in Indian dancing at the age of eight on a school show directed by her sister Seeta Shah, now Seeta Mohamed, the band of Nrityageet really started after Nadira and Indranie Shah had reached a level of dancing at the Indian Cultural Centre that caused their teachers, the Pawars, to put them on stage. With lots of inspiration and groundwork from Mrs Bhanmattie Shah, Nrityageet was begun 21 years ago. Teenagers, Nadira and Indranie, walked from store to store trying to get assistance with sponsorship for advertisements. They sewed the costumes themselves. But through it all the Ministry of Culture was always there to help, Lynette Dolphin, Billy Pilgrim, Mildred Lowe, Daphne Rogers - they were always there for the group, recognising their skills as dancers and their love and determination for succeeding and taking Nrityageet to the highest level. The Ministry of Culture has involved the group as part of the Guyana's team at Carifesta on a number of occasions, and once at Caribana. Also the group has been the Guyana and Caribbean team in Lisbon, as requested by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. A very successful programme was presented which included an exhibition on an overview of Guyana. The group with its mini exhibition has toured Europe, the Caribbean and made brief appearances in North America on stage and on television. Present and future of Nrityageet Nrityageet has moved from a performance of purely Indian classical and folk dance and music, to a performance that retains its original Indian classical and folk dance styles with choreographies that are drawn from the different parts of India as taught by various dance teachers. Additional choreographies, which were born of research into the history of music and dance, have been added to the show. Says Nadira, "We have also added, over the years, a repertoire of choreographies that reflect a blend of dance forms that are truly a representation of Guyana and the Caribbean, and if the dream becomes true to have the repertoire reflect our group not only as Guyanese and Caribbean, but as a Latin American concept, then our repertoire would be even wider." But we must say that first and foremost our Indian classical and folk dances repertoire continues to grow as we interact with other Indian dance groups in India, as we research our Indian heritage. While we are modern and open-minded in some respects, our roots are here with us. We merely share and grow with the years and the times with the objective of making Nrityageet truly reflective of a global village of dance. I know that there are some persons out there who are saying that we should be classified as foreign producers and as such we are not entitled to the same benefits as Guyanese who live and produce here on a full-time basis. But, if the truth be known, the Director, Producer and Co-founder, Seeta Mohamed lives here, year round do all the promotions even if we come home a few weeks before the show. We do our choreographies and she pulls the show together, packages it to as close to international standards as is possible, working around the technical limitations that exist locally to the point where we can perform internationally with all the sophisticated effects incorporated. One of Nrityageet's choreographies, Suzanne Mohamed's, was performed at the Frank Collymore Hall in Barbados and won the Madame Ifill Award for Best Choreography performed in Barbados in that year. And co-founder, costume designer, and this year, choreographer, Mrs Bhanmattie Shah, lives here and works on costumes year round. She goes to India, buys fabric and all the accessories, goes to Trinidad Carnival collects material and ideas, is the anchor and the centre around which the entire preparation evolves. She keeps the group together year round holding rehearsals, making bookings for performances, and keeps contact with the different cultural groups so that the group is continuously active. Andre Sobryan, is also one of the senior choreographers, dancer and teacher. (NADIRA ULLYET, SEETA MOHAMED
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