bound
'bound' is inspired by the poetry of Lal Ded, a 14th century Kashmiri poetess. The intention of the work is to confront how our lives are held hostage by the world of appearances and as her poetry suggests, to cultivate spiritual practice to break free from our attachments. I find myself in moments of spiritual clarity while entrapped in a web of madness borne from a sense of weariness at the battle against the ways white supremacy and patriarchy seeps into one's self-reference.
bound was presented at a virtual festival called 'Capturing the Moment' curated by South Orange Performing Arts Center. This work in progress was made possible by a fellowship grant offered by New Jersey State Council of the Arts and Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation.
Review from ‘Seeing Dance Magazine’
“ The showcase provided a chance to revisit Barkha Patel‘s bound, seen last spring on A Showcase of New Jersey Choreographer Fellows by South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC). I enjoyed it even more than before. Patel evokes magnificently the web of madness that 14th-century Kashmiri poetess and yogini Lal Ded found herself in after being falsely accused of adultery by her mother-in-law, and forced to leave her home and marriage. Alongside that are moment of near spiritual clarity. Patel’s fusion of contemporary movement and kathak is quite outstanding, while the use of film as a sort of inner voice makes for an effective extra layer. She plans to develop bound into a whole evening piece. It should be worth waiting for. ” - David Mead