MEET JEEVIKA

DOES CULTURE FADE WITH EACH WASH?

Jeevika Bhat is an Indian-American choreographer who uses dance as a medium to explore the confluence of cultures. Her Clothesline premieres on November 13 and 14 at the City College of New York.

Name: Jeevika Bhat. Jeevika means the source of life, or water. I recently had a conversation with a man from the Caribbean named Gabriel at a YMCA in the Bronx, who had also asked me about the meaning of my name. When I shared, he told me that he had just started taking water aerobics classes at the YMCA, and that he finally understood why his ancestors had such a deep connection with the sea.

Currently: Clothesline is a contemporary Indian dance story, told from the perspective of a sari which is passed down through generations of Karnataka women. In addition to exploring themes of home, homesickness, and heritage inheritance, the piece is largely about laundry – how does culture fade with each wash? The notion that we are too American for our home country, yet too foreign for America, plagues so many of my second generation immigrant peers. My training is in the east Indian classical dance style Odissi, which I use as a basis for a contemporary Indian choreographic mode that seeks to define the confluence of my cultures through my art. Paralleling the passage of time, Clothesline becomes less and less classical over the course of the evening.

Through this process, I remain guided by these questions: How do we define home? Is there a way that we can find a home away from home? Is our inherent identity redefined as we physically move from place to place? How can we maintain connections with our roots and upbringings while staying present in our current spatial and cultural circumstances?

Clothesline premieres on November 13 and 14 at the City College of New York.

My life in 50 words (or less!): I am an Indian-American choreographer who uses dance as a medium to explore the confluence of my cultures. My technical background is in Odissi, which I study under Guru Jyoti Rout. Academically, I hold an MFA in Dance from UC Irvine and a dance minor from UC San Diego.

The dancer in me took flight when: I watched a contemporary ballet performance set to Carol of the Bells at Christmas in the Park in San Jose, in 2001.

The choreographer in me wishes: To fly (literally) (use of vertical space?! wow!)

My favourite line in poetry: By T S Eliot, Four Quartets”

Or music heard so deeply

That it is not heard at all, but you are the music

While the music lasts.

Favourite colours: This week, dull faded navy and deep vibrant purple.

Favourite designer: Sumedh K

Favourite movie: Before Sunrise

Favourite books/authors: Sati (Christopher Pike), A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett), The Idiot (Elif Batuman), Shiva’s Fire (Suzanne Fisher Staples), Messenger (Lois Lowry)

Favourite TV shows: Arrested Development, Survivor, The Rehearsal, Taskmaster

Favourite ice cream flavours: Frutero Coconut, Venchi Lemon Sorbet

Favourite cuisine: This week, Japanese

Favourite restaurants: Kensho Sushi and Oaxacan Kitchen Mobile

Favourite activities: Cooking, walking, sitting, swimming

I hang out: All the time.

I’m freaked out by: Consistency

I need: Friendship

My role model: Smiti Narayanan

Tips to save the planet: Take public transport as much as you can

In a perfect world: This week, we give each other and ourselves grace

CLOTHESLINE, WHERE ROOTLESSNESS HANGS

Clothesline is told from the perspective of a sari that is passed down through generations of Karnataka women.

The CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI), an expansive program providing New York City choreographers and dance companies with creative residencies on CUNY college campuses, announces the world premiere of Clothesline by Jeevika Bhat on November 13 and 14 at 7:30pm at Aaron Davis Hall at City College, NYC.

Choreographed by Jeevika Bhat, Clothesline is a contemporary Indian dance story, told from the perspective of a sari that is passed down through generations of Karnataka women. Exploring themes of home, heritage, and identity, the piece asks “how does culture fade with each wash?”

Bhat trained in the east Indian classical dance style Odissi, and she uses this as a basis for a contemporary choreographic mode that seeks to define the confluence of cultures through art. 

“The notion that we are too American for our home country, yet too foreign for America, plagues many of my second-generation immigrant peers,” says Bhat. “Deeply personal to my own lineage, Clothesline evokes a sense of homesickness, personifying the sari as a parallel to the immigrant experience.”

Clothesline features a cast of eight South Asian dancers, one of whom plays the personified sari: Shalini Basu, Keshav Agiwal, Rutva Satish, Jeevika Bhat, Medha Morparia, Samanvita Kasthuri, Bhavana Channavajala, Divya Empranthiri. The score is comprised of Kannada folk music - bhavageethe (emotional songs) and janapadageethe (songs of the people).

Clothesline is co-presented by the Leonard Davis Center for the Performing Arts.