Empathetic medley
A. Ramalinga Sastry
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Marion Coutarel's recital for Libenshilfe was replete with paradigmatic professionalism and finesse.
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Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam
GOING SOLO Theatre virtuoso Marion Coutarel gave a good mimetic dance performance.
A three-week workshop on the feasibility of application of theatre arts, including music and dance, activating the mentally challenged was organised under the aegis of the local chapter of Lebenshilfe institute recently in its premises.
The institute, a voluntary organisation has more than 400 mentally retarded individuals of various age groups, between 2 and 40 years , on its rolls of which about 150 are accommodated in the hostels attached to it. All of them are engaged by qualified teachers, nurses, ayahs and so forth for more than 6 hours every day.
Founder and general secretary of the institute, T. Saraswathi Devi, who had intensive training at the parent institute established way back in 1940s by Tom Mutters in Germany and also diploma from Andhra University Department of Theatre Arts, expertly coordinated the entire exercise.
Theatre virtuoso Marion Coutarel of France, who has practical experience in the field dealing her own mentally retarded brother at home, voluntarily came all the way and spent three weeks at the institute in Visakhapatnam. The exercise yielded good results and offered new hope. This fact amply got evident in the mimetic dance and dramatic shows presented by youngsters between 16 and 19 years of age at the function organised to mark the conclusion of the workshop.
Ballets The seasons and Blossom buds followed by the play Snow white not only delighted them but also made all eyes fogged with heart warming joy in the packed auditorium.
Born in a small township in France with flair associated with zeal to learn and perform, Marion, who is in her early 30s, not only had systematic training in all aspects of performing arts like dance, drama and music, but also established her own institute Theatre De La Remise. She attracted overwhelming response at Visakhapatnam as she performed a solo mimetic dance titled The inner and outer doors with paradigmatic professionalism and a finesse of that of a wizard.
Fluid in the face and astoundingly adept in adapting the eyes to register contrasting expressions, she empathetically unveiled a medley of conflicting emotions the mind could get subjected to when the doors of the inner heart are kept open to the outside world and vice-versa.
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