Hero catches attention
Dancer-choreographer Aminul Islam Hero has a close relationship with India. A disciple of Leela Samson, one of the leading exponents of Bharatanatyam, India beckons him time and again. Recently, Hero was in New Delhi to give a performance at the Bangladesh High Commission on Ekushey February.
An evening of dance and poetry was the fare for the evening. Hero, accompanied by three dancers from his Srishti Cultural Center -- Sabrina Nisa, Tamimul Haque and Kaspia Punni –put some fine steps together in contemporary, fusion and folk dance. While the dancers captured the agony of the martyrs of the Language Movement, they also presented the ultimate revolt against oppression and the joy of freedom from Pakistani rule. The final contemporary piece had the foursome in a celebratory mode as they waved the national flag and the symbolic national flower—water lilies—with abandon.
One of the highlights of the performance was a patriotic dance set against the poem “Ami Joddha Hobo”, composed by the versatile Deputy Bangladesh High Commissioner in Delhi, Mahbub Saleh.
At the conclusion of the evening, Hero and his troupe were showered with compliments from members of the audience who had turned out to see the performance. Twenty-six year old Punni received her share of attention. “I am a professional dancer, I started learning dance from the age of eight at Srishti Cultural Center,” she explained more than once to the people who had crowded around her.
Meanwhile, basking in the success of the performance, Hero took time off to talk about his upcoming projects. “I plan to go to Chennai to meet my Guru Leela Samson. Soon I will take my “Ali Baba and 40 Thieves” production to Kolkata,” said Hero. He also has a show lined up in Beirut on March 26, Bangladesh's Independence Day, besides performances in Dhaka on Pahela Baishakh.
And as founder-chairman of NGO Bandhu Social Welfare Society, along with the team, he is a keen advocate on issues related to HIV/AIDS and the promotion of human rights for vulnerable groups such as transgenders, using dance as a medium whenever he can. He says, however, that he never plans for the future. “As a dancer, I believe in living in the present moment,” he signs off.
Comments