Talk 3: Dance Production
Setting the Mood: Lighting Design for Indian Classical Dance (Gautam Bhattacharya)
7 May, 3-5pm GMT/ 4-6pm BST
About
Light is the Absence of Darkness. A pitch dark stage is of utmost importance. Like a painter who paints with his coloured pigments on a blank white canvas; a light designer should paint with light on a blank black canvas. The designer has to carefully pick and choose what to reveal, how to reveal it and at what point of time to reveal it; therein lies the crux of a successful design. The designer can then use light to paint on the three-dimensional canvas of the performance what in his mind's eye he saw. The angles and colours come and go, flash and creep, are loud or soft. Design is a statement of aesthetics - how to see and not merely look; how to listen and not merely to hear.
The Artist
Gautam Bhattacharya’s journey into the world of lighting was an extension of his deep interest in theatre. After graduation from Delhi University, he enrolled for a course in stage lighting at the Sriram Centre for Art & Culture in Delhi. Thereafter, he worked with leading light designers, like Sitanshu Mukherjee and the legendary Tapas Sen on various projects in India and abroad. Simultaneously, he worked independently and established a personal reputation as a lighting designer. He has executed stage lighting for many institutions in Delhi and has worked with a galaxy of reputed dancers and theatre practitioners (e.g. Aditi Mangaldas, Madhavi Mudghal, Alarmel Valli, Birju Maharaj, Chandraleka, Kumudini Lakhia, Malavika Sarukkai…). He has designed lights for Sound & Light shows and he is also a Theatre & Lighting Consultant for various auditoriums all over India. He received the Chaman Lal Memorial Award for 2006 – in association with Rosco Colour Lab of U.K. for his contribution to Stage Lighting. The Akademi Puraskar for 2006, awarded by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, for his contribution to Indian Theatre in the field of Stage Lighting. Award for Lifetime Contribution to Indian Classical Dance – ANANYA 2014 by Seher, New Delhi. The Natsamrat Award for best Lighting Designer – awarded by Natsamrat Theatre Society, New Delhi – 2017