Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 4 Num 228 Thu. January 15, 2004  
   
Culture


Performing art
Immersed in rhythm and posture
Male dancers need promotion: Anisul Islam Hero


Two elderly Japanese women were so moved by one of my performances held at a festival at Chofu, a city near Tokyo, that, for the first few moments they were speechless. I had performed a composition of Radha where she tells her friends about her pain as Krishna talks with other girls and not her. I tried my best to express Radha's pain through my Mudras. Well applauded by the audience, more response was awaiting me at the backstage. The Japanese ladies held my hands and finally when they were a little calm they said that they could feel Radha's pain which had touched their hearts. This is one of the memorable events as a performer' recalls dancer Anisul Islam Hero.

Hero is a specialist in Bharanatyam, a dance director, choreographer and an instructor. He started to learn to dance during his college days and after the basic lessons in Bulbul Lalitakala Academy, he went to India with a government scholarship in 1988. There he came across the renowned Indian dancer Padmasree Leela Samson. He finished his two-year course on Bharatnatyam from Sriram Kala Kendra, New Delhi under Guru Leela Samson and another three years specialisation in Bharanatyam under 'Guru Shishya Parampara' system from Gandhara Mahavidyalaya in New Delhi under the same guru.

His dance repertoire also includes the influences of Professor CV Chandrashekhar of Baroda University and Shantibala Sinha, a reputed Monipuri dancer. He also completed short dance courses from Japan, Austria and Germany among other countries.

Hero claims to be the pioneer of the contemporary dance in Bangladesh. He has traveled to about 25 countries and gained immense popularity.

Actively participating in many social services, he performed at the 12th World AIDS Conference in Geneva, using dance as media for AIDS education and awareness. He also performed dance in Chiangmai in the programme titled 'Care and Support People living with HIV/AIDS', in Australia as well as in India. These performances are a part of his involvement with a Bangladeshi NGO that is an HIV/AIDS/STDs prevention project called Bondhu Social Welfare Society.

Hero is not yet satisfied with his performance and believes that his best piece is yet to come.

He feels that the total scenario of dance in our country is progressing rather rapidly but the reluctance of the newcomers is certainly not very encouraging. He says, 'They tend to be commercial and expect to perform in the medium within a very short span of time. For this, they fail to acquire devotion or dedication for dance.'

On the disadvantages of the dancers he says, 'Dancers have only two mediums to perform- stage and television, while artistes of other performing arts have more. Besides costumes and other requirements in a dance recital make it an expensive art.' He also thinks that the print media of our country does not give sufficient coverage to dancers, especially male dancers and composers are not at all promoted. 'Movie, music and drama are their preferences, not dance. Prothom Alo gives away awards in categories except dance, but ironically they also cannot do without a dance performance in their award giving programmes. This negligence is the same everywhere.'

Although Hero knows that the dancers are not held in high esteem, however he is quite hopeful about his future plans and wishes to continue with his performance and social work in future.

Picture
Draped in a colourful attire Anisul Islam Hero portrays a graceful posture