Tagore’s much-acclaimed dance drama ‘Shyama’ will be performed in the ancient Indian classical dance form tomorrow at the auditorium of Independent University Bangladesh (IUB) in the city’s Bashundhara Residential area. Choreographed by Jai Govinda, Arno Komolika, an international artiste of Bangladeshi origin, will come up with the solo performance of Bharatnatyam interpretation of Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Shyama’ at the programme. Tagore’s ‘Shyama’ is an epic composition. Shyama was first staged at the auditorium of Ashutosh College in Kolkata in 1936 and proved to be an instant hit. In 1938, Tagore had started to develop this into a dance work for the stage with the help of students at Shantiniketan. This was what he expanded and developed into the complete lyrical dance-drama and renamed that as Shyama in 1939. The legacy of ‘Shyama’ has continued ever since that day. ‘Shyama’ is essentially a romantic tragedy, though there are two love stories intertwined; that of Shyama and Bajra Sen, who at first are both in search of their initial partners. Then there is the unexpressed, unrequited love that Uttiyo has for Shyama which leads Uttiyo to sacrifice himself for her happiness. Both romantic situations are likely to be painfully familiar to many. The unique feature of today’s performance is that though ‘Shyama’ is a dance drama normally performed by a group of artistes, Amo Komolika will perform solo in the ancient Indian classical dance form Bharatnatyam to bring out the pathos of the remarkable and universal story by Tagore. Arno took her training on Bharatnatyam and Monipuri dance from Chhayanaut and worked under the guidance of famous Sharmila Bandyopadhyay, Belayet Hossain, Tamanna Rahman and Guru CV Chandrasekhar. Besides, Shayma, she also performed in Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Chandalika’ and ‘Chitrangada’. Her rich repertoires of performances have taken her across the globe at various festivals in USA, Canada, Germany, India and Bangladesh. She has received the “Distinguished Dancer Award 2012” from Writers International Network, Vancouver for her contribution to dance.

Where: IUB auditorium, Bashundhara R/A, Dhaka
When: 6:30pm, tomorrow