Vijay Paliparty calls himself a “one-man band,” but it has nothing to do with instruments. The former student at Carnegie Mellon University decided to move to the Washington D.C./Virginia area for “a little more career growth.” According to him, “It became a little too comfortable in Pittsburgh.”
He had completed an assortment of degrees in professional writing and cultural studies and found a 9 to 5 job writing for mortgage bankers. “Obviously I had a lot to write about,” Paliparty jokes on the phone from Washington. Next week and “still sticking to the real estate/finance area for now,” he will switch to Freddie Mac’s communications department.
But all that is supplemented by another parallel career. Bharatanatyam, that almost impossible-to-spell one of the seven major Indian styles, has been his passion, even while negotiating CMU’s academic turf.
In Pittsburgh he was most often associated with Odissi-based dancer Sreyashi Dey. Now Paliparty is striking out on his own in The Spilling Ink Project, which will present a U.S. premiere at CMU’s Kresge Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Saturday. As he explains, “I do a lot of creative writing,” I ask, “In your spare time?” Paliparty laughs and continues, “It was sort of by accident that it happened. I was examining creativity and I came to an idea that there’s an unexpectedness. Is it something you plan with technique? Do you put all that in place? Or do you just kind of splash it on a page.? Do you literally pour it onto your countertops and see where it goes?”
He says that’s where the title “Spilling Ink” came from, noting, “You just have to go at something and try it — you’re not really sure where it’s going to go, but go with that perspective.” Paliparty has also concluded that nothing will ever be finished, noting, “There is no final product — it’s that moment, that place, that form that it took.”
He also connects it to religion, a strong component of Indian dance, where “there are so many gods, hundreds of thousands in the pantheon.” That demonstrates the sense of impermanence, where “you’re constantly moving with god, from god, to god…without god sometimes.”
The title of the work is “Alekhya,” which literally means “to paint.” Paliparty wanted to think about creativity as prayer and show that idea through a journey where the audience can organically reflect on aspects of Indian dance, such as sound, rhythm, attire and the instruments themselves.
The program will have two works which will address the sound component and another focusing on rhythm. But the main piece will be “Varnam,” special to Paliparty because it was choreographed by one of his teachers in 1970. A “varnam” generally demonstrates a dancer’s mastery of Bharatanatyam, but this one will center on the Mother Goddess and her many forms.
Paliparty took out the religiousness and reinterpreted the choreography in a group format where the five dancers interact more fully. He also inserted poetry, which he wrote, in a dialogue for two Pittsburgh actors, Jennifer Schaupp and Joe McGranaghan. Live music will accompany the performance.
No, Paliparty does not play any instruments in this concert, but he is looking forward to teaching more in the future…in his spare time.
Check the Listings for more information on The Spilling Ink Project.
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