The state of contemporary dance theatre in Guyana after the first decade of the 21st century is a direct development out of cultural movements in the 1970s on the one hand, and deep-rooted cultural and performance traditions on the other, with various contributions from foreign influences. Studies of the products of these are infinitely interesting. That is not to say they are all of good quality, but that they seem inexhaustible, always turning up some fascinating area for investigation that inspires repeated revisits to the subject.
Among the foremost developments is the annual dance theatre production Naya Zamana, produced by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha. It is performed by that institution’s artistic arm, the Dharmic Nritya Sangh, a prominent dance company directed by Vindhya Vasini Persaud. This close association of the religious organisation with the performing group and the annual dance production is an excellent example of the kinds of development referred to above, because it reflects the cultural movements, the deep-rooted traditions, the foreign influences and the way contemporary dance has advanced in Guyana.
The recently performed Naya Zamana 17 was a dance drama titled “Bollywood Dreams” scripted, choreographed and directed by Dr Persaud and designed by Trishala Simantini Persaud. 
It exhibited a very high level of production skills, a theatrical spectacular with music and dance enhanced by outstanding levels of colour and spectacle in accordance with the kind of Indian theatre and cinematic tradition of which it is a product and which it advances. It demonstrated many things with derivatives from the Bollywood cinema, the Broadway musical, the moral comedy, the fairytale and the romance. These were exhibited in themes, treatment, presentation and performance styles. There was high achievement in the very intricate, colourful and elaborate costuming typical of the form, played against an ostentatious set designed for majestic grandeur, glitter and dazzling spectacle.
This visual polish and sophistication served as physical conduits for a plot that operated at a number of levels beyond the simple uncomplicated story. The heroine Sonia, played by Indira Harry, develops an obsession with the Bollywood cinema and, fired by a dream of becoming one of its stars, she pursues training in dance. Her very close friend Jiya, created on stage by Zahrah Ali, joins her in classes and accompanies her to Bollywood where she auditions. Ironically, it is Jiya who is cast by the famous director Kumar (Jewan Persaud) and gets the chance to realise the dream that has always inspired her now bitterly disappointed friend. Inspiration turns to a poisonous fashion of resentment which breeds ill-feeling and leads Sonia to become jealous of and despise Jiya while developing intolerance and an inability to appreciate those who are her friends. This includes Viren (Kapil Tiwari), one of the good influences, who is secretly in love with her.
Kumar’s movie with Jiya is such a great award winning success that he immediately moves to do another one and Sonia receives the joyful news that she has been chosen for the lead role in it. As it turns out, it was her friend Jiya who highly recommended her to Kumar. All are reunited and share the happiness of the Bollywood dream. The worthy issues tied in to the treatment of this plot include the appearances against the realities. Behind the attraction of the showy glitz and glamour of the movie industry is very hard work which the heroines soon realise. Then, it provides challenges and test of character which Sonia goes through. There is a difference between superficial obsession and genuine work towards success since the former leads Sonia into jealousy and poisons her mind against her friends. Ironies are involved. Jiya, the true genuine friend possesses the qualities for success. She goes into dance for reasons quite different from Sonia’s. She does it to lend support to both her friend and her mother (played by Priya Methuram) who is the dance tutor. She also goes to Bollywood in similar support of Sonia and fortune favours her for her true qualities. Although she is as much captivated by the glamour as her friend is, her thoughts are pure, untainted by ambitious obsession.
The ironies continue in that Sonia has to struggle with herself to avoid being totally consumed by jealousy and disappointment and being turned into a bitter, bitchy person. An interesting technique borrowed from the Morality Play is used by director and script-writer Persaud as Sonia faces a mirror and is visited by good and antagonistic images which are the workings of her mind trying to influence her. She has to learn to reject the negative ones in order to win reward. Ironically too, it is the good influence that comes to her rescue as Jiya never deserts her friend when she wins glory and success, but selflessly recommends Sonia, bringing her capability for playing the lead role to the director’s attention.
Naya Zamana itself has had a long fascination with Bollywood and this is not the first time it has modelled this Indian form. It has searched over the years for artistic structure, finding it in different ways, and this time finds a formula that works to advantage in a significant achievement. It is not mere imitation of Bollywood because of the way it creates a story within a form that approaches issues and makes statements. The great popularity of Bollywood contributes to the entertainment while the audience derives benefits from the plot. All this is very relevant to some of the objectives of Naya Zamana, the Hindu Dharmic Sabha and the Dharmic Nritya Sang, while the company is also a development and a mission arising from tradition as well as the cultural movements of the seventies.
This has to do with the institutionalised formalisation of education in dance that eventually produced a growing number of trained professionals, new public and private dance schools and many private companies. But the rise of Vindhya Persaud’s company was not only the result of that, and its emergence out of the Hindu organisation was not by accident, but because of tradition. This involves a close association between the Hindu religious practice and the performing arts which saw several small Indian dance groups developing in kendras. This one did and advanced substantially because of the presence of trained persons for the schooling of others, choreography and the creation of productions. The company has thereafter functioned as training ground, a performance outfit, and a vehicle for the perpetuation of Indian dance and a cultural outreach arm of the Hindu religion.
Nowhere did it better bring together all the factors of its creation, functions and existence than when it performed its stage production of Ramlila, an old tradition. There it engaged in theatre, entertainment as well as religious instruction. That work is carried on in “Bollywood Dreams”, paying homage to a current popular and contemporary form while uplifting its audience.
