KARACHI: It is difficult to say what kind of dance form best describes a democratic dispensation. Certainly the expression ‘It takes two to tango’ doesn’t serve the purpose, because in a democratic form of government it is the people’s choice that matters. Perhaps that was the idea behind Munawar Chao dance and theatre group’s presentation at the Arts Council’s open air theatre on Saturday night that made him include different dance forms (classical, folk and Sufi) to put together a show interestingly titled ‘Dance democracy — where the mind is without fear’.

Definitely the performances were fearless in more ways than one, as there were many dancers who showed all kinds of skills in the limited time they had on stage for each act.

The programme was divided into two parts: the first part had classical performances and the second featured folk and Sufi-inspired movements. Munawar Chao and Suhaee Abro started the show with Pushpanjali combined with Tillana.

They were followed by a string of classical dances performed by Nighat Chaudhry, Farukh Darbar, Adnan Jahangir, Mohsin Babar and Ayesha Maqsood. All of them got a decent response from the audience which had showed up in a reasonable number.

It was in the second part, based on Rabindranath Tagore’s line ‘where the mind is without fear’ that the audience got more involved in the show. It was more identifiable because it didn’t require interpretation.

The first bit by Chao and Folk Dance Group hinted at the importance of peace and harmony in the region. Then Adnan Jahangir came up with his spin on the famous tune ‘Supreme Ishq’, signifying the Sufi component of the event. It was well received. But Folk Dance Group’s presentation of the fisher folk dance engaged the audience as quite a few clapped to the beat of the tune, appreciating the dancers’ effort.

Next up was Suhaee Abro’s performance on ‘Mein sufi hun’. She showed her versatility by adapting to a different genre in no time. The last two items on the list were based on Punjabi folk songs.

It is hard not to praise the hard work put in by the organisers of the show, and also because dance as an art form must be appreciated and acknowledged, but one felt it could have been better arranged as too many things happened in the span of 90 or so minutes, some of which required undivided attention.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2014