Dance Video | 2020

“Chankya Trance is a homage to the historical character Chanakya. I had envisioned him as a master of illusions, at the same time, I don’t look at him as a crafty, vile, strategist. I see a mystic in him, along the lines of Kabir, Purandaradasa, Amir Khusrau…The beat is of a contemporary, materialistic, “makes anyone dance” kind of puppet master, while the melody is introspective and mystical, based the Carnatic raga Revathy.” – Raman Iyer, Musician & Storyteller

12ve is a movement piece inspired by Raman Iyer’s Chanakya Trance, a track from the Album “Midnight Musings & The Mandolin” released in November 2020. 

The choreography, a string of 12 movements, is based on the idea that phrases when repeated with intense focus ad infinitum can induce an altered state of being. The piece also explores the cyclical, non-linear nature of time, drawing inspiration from the Hindu mythological concept of Vishnu’s cosmic sleep (anantashayana). The movement vocabulary draws from yoga and Mohiniyattam to create a cycle with 12 units – a mystical number symbolizing completeness.

“I was bewitched the first time I listened to Raman’s track. I could immediately visualize a slow, meditative choreography pulsating with energy. Chanting, dhikr, drumming, dancing, jumping…such devices have been used by shamans, dervishes, oracles and other mystics to realize a trance like state. 12ve is the physical representation of a chant, a cycle with endless repetition – a portal into trance.”