108 Circles

Marta Beccatini Pou
Feb 4
4 min read

Updated: Feb 13

Garba-Fusion research - a research of Garba and contemporary

My journey

108 Circles is the title of my solo Garba-Fusion piece. As noted in earlier posts, I chose this name upon learning about the number of circles performed during the Navratri Festival.

This solo focus on the circles as the main motif. It symbolises life, and the circularity of it. We born, live and die, everything in nature and starts again, it is circular. It is like a loop that keeps repeating.

I am also celebrating Garba and my new life which includes India. I am going to be married to an Indian guy from Gujarat, Ahmedabad who introduced me to this beautiful culture which includes Garba. I feel part of it, I feel is a new part of my life that I feel the necessity to portray through art, through movement.

This work is a collection of numerous ideas and symbols around life in a personal and general context.

Sections...

My solo has 3 sections different sections that complement each other.

1st Section - Cultural symbolism

First section I start walking around as if I am shadowing a big circle in the middle. My speed increases slowly until full speed that makes me enter the big circle, this world, my world.

Symbolises - The rapid moving of life through our eyes. Entering into the life, into the Garba playground.

Inside the circles - I discover the circles as if I was in the Garba Playground, as if I was introducing myself into Garba, discovering new cultural identities in my life, new circles, new connections.

I go from circle to circle trying to fit, trying to find new forms. Trying to understand Garba, to learn Garba, to fuse it with what I already know movement wise. What circle do I choose?

Each circle has a different story. Each dancing circle in Garba has a different dynamic. Same like life, different circles, different groups, different dynamics.

2nd Section- Personal Narrative

At the end of the first section I find a circle where I can express myself... In that circle I talk about circles that goes in a loop. The text is in Spanish and English.

It is my personal narrative, of my experiences in an abstract way.

TEXT

Veo,

Veo, veo un circulo

Veo, veo un circulo, creo un circulo

Veo, veo un circulo, creo un circulo, camino en circulo

Veo, veo un circulo, creo un circulo, camino en circulo, I see

Veo, veo un circulo, creo un circulo, camino en circulo, I see, I see a circle

Veo, veo un circulo, creo un circulo, camino en circulo, I see, I see a circle, I walk

Veo, veo un circulo, creo un circulo, camino en circulo, I see, I see a circle, I walk, I walk in circles, circulos, circulos soy, en circulos voy

Veo, veo un circulo, creo un circulo, camino en circulo, I see, I see a circle, I walk, I walk in circles, circulos, circulos soy, en circulos voy, 108 circulos

Veo, veo un circulo, creo un circulo, camino en circulo, I see, I see a circle, I walk, I walk in circles, circulos, circulos soy, en circulos voy, 108 circulos, hundred an eight

Veo, veo un circulo, creo un circulo, camino en circulo, I see, I see a circle, I walk, I walk in circles, circulos, circulos soy, circulos voy, 108 circulos, hundred eight, hundred eight circles

Veo, veo un circulo, creo un circulo, camino en circulo, I see, I see a circle, I walk, I walk in circles, circulos, circulos voy, circulos soy, 108 circulos, hundrd eight, hundred eight circles, circulos con las manos, circulos con los pies.

Veo, veo un circulo, creo un circulo, camino en circulo, I see, I see a circle, I walk, I walk in circles, circulos, circulos soy, en circulos voy, 108 circulos, hundred eight, hundred eight circles, circulos con las manos, circulos con los pies. Circulos.

Body-energy flows in circles, it is a circuit that connects with each other.

To me, a circle can also represent a link to something new.

We revolve in circles; the universe perpetually moves in circular patterns on its own and around the sun. In Hinduism, it is believed that we born, live, die, and are reborn. I share this belief, as I feel that everything transforms into something else once our physical form ceases to exist, or when nature perishes, something new emerges in its place.

We move, walk, run in circles in a circular universe that is infinite and partially unknown.

3rd Section - Architecture of Garba and contemporary movement.

In this section, I include the skirt as an extra element of the performance. I see the skirt again, the skirt is part of my circles. My skirt is there waiting for me to play Garba, to start feeling part of the circles, of this new identity, this new journey.

I fade out from my text and movement until the skirt is next to me. I start playing with the skirt, I discover new things with the skirt. I put it on. I start feeling Garba. I observe my feet, my body, how the skirt flows... until I become one...

I play with the body mechanics of Garba and contemporary to find a new movement connection.

Music choice...

Choosing music was challenging because I struggled to find Garba tracks without lyrics or to find western music that would go with the Garba track. The instrumental songs I found kept looping, and I was looking for a track with varied musical dynamics.

I discovered one of my favorite Garba songs, "Dakla," and incorporated its lyrics with my own voice repeating in a loop. This created a connection between the different sections.

In the future, I intend to collaborate with musicians who can assist me in this area and seamlessly integrate both Western and Southeastern music.