THE ABSENT LOVER
A new production by Thresh


World Premiere presented at The Tree of Life Festival by Prakriti Foundation
February 5th 2008 at 7pm (Children’s show at 3pm)


At Chinmaya Heritage Center, No.2, 13 th Avenue, Harrington Road, Chetpet, Chennai 600031 Ph: 91-44-28365046
For information on tickets/passes please visit www.prakritifoundation.com, www.treeoflifefestival.com

Some notes on the production...
The Absent Lover is inspired by a 5th century Indian play (Vikramorvishyam) by Sanskrit poet-dramatist Kalidasa.
The play begins when a wandering story-teller, the Sutradhara, invites us into a mysterious forest glade, where ripe and strange-looking pods hang from the branches of a magical tree. It is from these bizarre fruit that our own story begins to emerge...
A King (Pururuvas, son of the moon) has lost his lover (the nymph-Queen Urvashi) in the forest. It is a wild and stormy night. The King struggles through the forest encountering strange and wonderful manifestations of nature. His ordeal becomes a metaphor, an intense crucible of self-examination as, through the pain and longing, he journeys towards redemption and true love.

...and the Company (Thresh)
Thresh (www.threshdance.org) is a dance-theatre company creating original productions with internatioal collaborators. Thresh was founded in 2004 by Artistic Director Preeti Vasudevan. The company has since presented works at major venues and arts festivals within India, throughout the United states and in Europe. Recently the company has established a research and development centre in Chennai, where artists from different traditions, backgrounds and disciplines can work together in a creative and truly multi-cultural environment.
In addition, Thresh has a major educational initiative promoting the performing arts through multimedia and also organizes education workshops in music and dance for schools, the general public and special events (e.g. charity events in partnership with corporations). Most recently (January 2008) Thresh has been instrumental in the production of a major website initiative for the teaching of Bharatanatyam.
The site can be accessed at www.dancingforthegods.org

Meet the creative team...

Raju Das Baul (Musician Spirit)
As early as 4 years old, Raju was singing and performing in the ancient tradition Bengali tradition of Baul. Now 17, he is rapidly gaining recognition as a prodigy in this mystical performance form.
Trained initially by his father, Sridam Das Baul, Raju is currently a disciple of the internationally acclaimed Baul singer Sottonando Das Baul. Raju has already made a number of recordings with other leading Baul musicians and has featured in a major television documentary on the Baul.
When he is not touring with his music, Raju lives and teaches Baul singing at Shantiniketan, West Bengal.

Gilles Chuyen (King / Sutradhara)
Gilles Chuyen began his career in dance at the age of 9 with folk performances in his native France. Later, he added modern jazz, ballet and contemporary dance training to his repertoire.
Based in New Delhi since 1994, Gilles has been on a spiritual and artistic search, which has recently led to the formation of his company IN STEP, under the guidance of the Karmic Research Centre. The company's mission is to reassert the essence of dance as a platform to connect to energies.
Gilles believes in celebrating and exploring the boundaries of movement between dance, theatre, research and entertainment. His work involves dancers, actors and children and includes special programmes for NGOs and prison centres.
Gilles’ projects have taken him all over India, as well as France, the U.K., South Africa, the Seychelles, Pakistan, Singapore, China, Australia, Mexico and Colombia.

Delphine Ciavaldini (Costume Design / Stage Design)
Delphine studied fashion and theatre costume in London, where she went on to work with many of the West End‘s most presitious houses, including the Royal Opera House and the English National Opera (productions she has been involved with include: La Traviata, Don Giovanni, Macbeth, Nabucco, La Boheme).
Her designs have featured in several international dance festivals, and she has been involved with a number of major award-winning shows including Matthew Bourne’s Car Men (Old Vic).
After eight years in London Dephine moved to the Mediterranean island of Corsica, where she created costume and set design for local theatre companies, as well as several short films. Now returned to Paris, she creates set and costume designs for film, music, theatre and dance.

Les Dickert (Lighting Design)
Les Dickert recently created the lighting for Yvonne Rainer’s RoS Indexical in New York, Vienna, and Berlin. Les has worked with numerous major international dance venues, including the Edinburgh International Festival; Sadler’s Wells; The National Ballets of Denmark, Belgium, England, Holland, Canada and Australia; Bayerisches Staatsballet; Berlin Staatsoper; La Scala Ballet; and the Izmir Dance Festival.
In his native United States, he has designed for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Kennedy Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and many American regional and off-Broadway theater companies. As past resident designer of the White Oak Dance Project, he collaborated with artists such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Lucinda Childs, Mark Morris, Trisha Brown, Yvonne Rainer, Steve Paxton, and Richard Move. Les studied lighting design under Jennifer Tipton when he attended the Yale School of Drama. He lives in New York City.

Ben Foskett (Composer)
Ben Foskett’s music encompasses concert, dance and theatre works, and has been performed at festivals throughout Europe, the United States and India. Players of his music include: the London Sinfonietta, clair-obscur, Psappha, the Agon Trio, Thresh, and the London Children’s Ballet.
He studied at the Royal College of Music under Edwin Roxburgh and later at the Royal Academy of Music under Simon Bainbridge. He is the recipient of a bursary from the RVW Trust and a Leverhulme Trust composition fellowship. Ben also works widely as orchestrator and arranger.

Bruno Kavanagh (Script / Adaptation)
Bruno Kavanagh started his career making documentary films for the BBC in London. He is also a freelance writer and journalist whose work has appeared in the Daily Telegraph and the Spectator.
Since the late 1990s he has been involved as an investor and creative director in the field of computer-based education, most recently with Red River (www.red-river.org) a company dedicated to online education in the performing arts (co-founded with his wife, Preeti Vasudevan). In January 2008, Red River has launched a major international initiative to promote Bharatanatyam (Indian Classical Dance) on the Internet. The project website can be accessed at www.dancingforthegods.org.

Celine Pradeu (Tree Spirit / Stage Hand)
French-born Celine Pradeu intially trained in ballet at the National Conservatory of the Nantes Region and the Dance and Music National Superior Conservatory in Paris.
As a performing artist, she has embraced a wide range of global dance styles, enabling her to excel in dance forms as varied as contemporary, flamenco, Persian, Bharatanatyam and Kathakali. She has performed these styles on both stage and in a number of film projects.
Celine has worked with many dance companies including: Eva Luna; Nakissa; Cie Jasmina; Les Oiseaux; Les 3 Coups Compagnie; Tendanse; Les Séraphins; La Muneca; Kahéna and Cie Tour de Babel. In 2003 she formed la Cie Relevée, of which she is Artistic Director. As an actress, she played the part of Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet directed by Lionel Briand.
Celine is also an experienced teacher and workshop leader having graduated from France’s Teaching State Diploma in 2000.

Preeti Vasudevan (Artistic Director / Urvashi / Stage Hand)
Preeti Vasudevan is a performer and choreographer whose creative explorations derive from her deep training in Indian classical dance (Bharatanatyam) as well as multiple other modern and contemporary forms. Her goal is to develop a new language of movement through a multi-disciplinary approach to dance and theatre.
She was delegate to the first American Dance Festival in India (’90) and was awarded a one-year cultural scholarship for cultural studies in Japan (’94). In 2003 she was selected as one of the emerging choreographers by the Joyce Foundation, NY and invited for the International Choreographer's Residency, American Dance Festival (ADF); She was faculty for the 2004/05 American Dance Festival teaching contemporary Indian dance technique and composition. As a classical soloist, Ms. Vasudevan has been the recipient of prestigious awards for her outstanding contribution in the classical arts of India.
Preeti Vasudevan has a Bachelor's in Psychology and a Master's in Dance Studies from Laban Centre London specializing in choreography and movement analysis.

Our Supporters
Thresh extends a big THANK YOU to all our supporters and patrons worldwide for helping in the creation of The Absent Lover and continued support with other Thresh projects.

In particular we would like to thank our co-producer, the Alliance Francaise, Chennai

The Absent Lover would not be possible without initial creation support from Vestas

Costume support by National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and Sundari Silks

Music Support by Paul Jacob and Bodhi Muzzik (www.bodhimusic.com)

With deepest gratitude to all those organizations, institutions and individuals and who have helped make this production possible.
If you would like to find out more about Thresh and our artistic and educational activities, please visit www.threshdance.org. Or contact Preeti Vasudevan directly at preeti@threshdance.org