in conversation with namaha mazoomdar

What question do you keep coming back to in your arts practice?

“My concern is to address the intention of my practice. Why am I practicing? and How am I practicing? The answer to why is straightforward, to improve but it is the how that determines it. Practice can either be mechanical or a conscious one. For me, engaging consciously opens up a plethora of possibilities, doing things differently. I enjoy exploring and playing with the nuances and subtleties of the form and so, each time I’m doing the same thing, I’m doing it differently. Such discoveries are like joy rides and I ask myself can I do this every time?”

How does your arts practice allow you to respond creatively to conflict/crisis around you?

“Through my arts practice, I’ve learnt to acknowledge that every day is a struggle. The basic idea of standing is a struggle against gravity. Struggle involves conflicts that are created by us and for us. Every conflict evokes emotions. So, as a dancer and a movement artist, I use emotions to lead me into movement. My aim is not to express my feeling but to feel the expression through my movement. When the entire being is committed to move in accordance with the emotion, creation automatically takes place.”

What do you enjoy most about the process of creating new work and what recurring challenges do you encounter?

“I love the uncertainty that comes with a process-oriented work. I say uncertain because often we know what we want to say but how we want to say tends to be elusive. This curiosity then drives us into a process of playing with spontaneous interpretations to arrive at the unexpected. When engaging in a new work I often reach a point where I find it hard to make a choice between staying in my comfort zone or moving out to unlearn habits and tendencies.”