The SA Games are approaching their closure. What better way to end the hugely popular games (February 9) than a taste of our traditional dance by our very own renowned classical dancers -- Shibli Mohammad and Shamim Ara Nipa.
Shibli promises that the duo's performance at the conclusion of the games will be entirely different from that at the inaugural ceremony. The talented dancer gave this correspondent an overview of what spectators can look forward to:
"At the opening we tried to put out a fantastic combination of colours and fantasies. At the closing, we'll have four different sessions -- Aquatic Shoot, Kathak, Angel and Folk dances."
"The aquatic shoot would be the first of its kind in Bangladesh, in fact in South Asia. With the help of a Singaporean company, which will provide us technical support, we will project a dance in water. Nipa and I will be dancing to 'Momo Chitte' in the video of the aquatic shot. The performance will be re-enacted by our group, most of whom are Nrityanchal students." Shibli added that at one point of the performance, Nipa and he would rush out of the video and on the stage. How would they do that? "That's a secret," he said smilingly.
“After this there will be Kathak performance with around 50 dancers. The Mughal era will be recreated here.”
“Angel will be a special performance in sky blue and white. Eighty girls will take part in this item. This section is about dreams, hope and love,” said Shibli.
The duo will end with a performance to the ever-familiar folk song “Kolo Kolo Chholo Chholo”. There will be 40 sails. Then it will be the turn of fireworks to light up the sky.
The dance has been choreographed by Shamim Ara Nipa and Shibli Mohammad. Talking about the participants, Shibli said, “Most of these boys and girls are young. They and their guardians were very cooperative, rehearsing relentlessly day and night. They hardly became tired, as they were equally excited about the performance. All in all it's going to be a great show.”