London: Not a bird or a plane. It’s Darshan Singh Bhuller, a 32 year old India born dancer, who has wings on his feet. After Steven Kapur’s Bhangrarap (a mixture of energetic ethnicity and soul stirring reggae), it snow Bhuller’ § tum to wow English audiences with some entertainment. Cross cultureless was always politically correct. Now it also seems to have become fashionably acceptable. Bhuller is touring England nation ally with a solo performance, set to eight Rolling Stones’ songs. And, dancing in step with the leitmotif of the times, he is setting nostalgically inclined audiences on fire with his inspired adaption of Mick Jager. Ironically, Bhuller, who featured in last month’s Sunday Times Magazine was never tuned in to Jagger’s jaggedly batliant rock and roll music, But his performance, critics say, Zoos one better than Jagger. As the Times Magazine put it: “Bhuller’s verve and athleticism, his infinite range of expression and as per technique, make Mick’s strutting seem clumsy and stuff” Purists may find it disconcerting 10 see Bhuller’s fine balletic performance choreographed (by Christopher Bruce) to ‘Rolling ‘Stones’ music, but Bhuller’s stylish tum will more than makeup for it. Bhuller joined the London Contemporary Dance Theater in 1981, Now apart from dancing, he also choreographed assists in direction. His sources of artistic inspiration are varied for instance, his latest work, Heart of Chaos, which will feature in the Dance Works Festival in Sheffield, England, draws heavily from the boxing ring. It keeps pace with the increasingly violent times that we live in, but Bhuller does not want the work to be seen as part of a larger trend in the artistic world. He seems to be well aware of his social responsibility he says Heart of Chaos i$ work so brutal that it should not be shown at matinees, Bhuller, who says he would have been selling hi-fi equipment in Leeds if he wasn’t selling the stage alight with his lithe grace, is one of a string of expatriate Indians who are igniting a new fusion in England that traverses the artistic spectrum. From Anish Kapoor’s sculptures to Hanif Kureishi’s wickedly funny masalas, from Steven Kapur’s bhangra rap clones to Freddie’ Mercury’s rock operas and the endless search for an Asian supermodel, a bit of the subcontinent has come home to rule.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 4, 1993
