The world needs Mohiniyattam: Eugenia Carrillo
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- Category: Mohiniyattam
- Published on Thursday, 14 March 2013 09:08
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Report of her talk in Samavesh II on Jan 12, 2013, Chennai)
A theatre artiste and contemporary dancer, Eugenia Carrillo is also trained in Trapeze and acrobatics.
In year 2000 she chanced upon a Kathakali performance and got completely drawn to it and after four months she packed her bags to Kerala for learning the artform. After few months of her training in Kathakali she joined Kerala Kalamandalam and started her training in Mohiniyattam under Guru Leelamma and her tryst with the dance form continues.
Speaking at Samavesh II, in Chennai, she revealed her perspective of Mohiniyattam and about taking the dance form to Spain. A lover of Mohiniyattam, Eugenia said her aim is not only to be a Mohiniyattam artiste but to spread Mohiniyattam day by day because she feels that the world needs this beautiful dance form, Mohiniyattam.
Spain and India share many cultural similarities and both celebrate nature in their cultural and artistic expressions. When I first saw Mohiniyattam I felt that I found something that I was looking for, she said. In theatre, we rely mainly on voice for expression but in Kathakali and Mohiniyattam I could feel that it is poetry in motion. These two art forms I thought was a compilation of all that I learnt in dance, theatre and acrobatics. For a Mohiniyattam dancer, the dance is like an instrument which is always with her to create music whenever she wants, she added.
She expressed gratitude all the gurus who shared their knowledge with her; Kalamandalam Leelamma, Padmashri Kshemavathy, Dr Neena Prasad and Padmashri Bharati Sivaji. They have given her the opportunity to taste the nectar of this eternal flower, she said.
