Pour | Student Reflections: Hansika Chawla

Pour by Daina Ashbee displays deep thought and immense emotions conveying inner thoughts and ideologies about society. Through this piece, Daina was able to spread awareness about a female body and the stigma behind it within society.

Personally, I was drawn towards this piece due to the expression of women's power, understanding how individuals may be vulnerable and insecure. The progression of this piece was not what I initially expected, though I was pleased with the result. Through silence, she was able to express her feelings and combining the idea of vocal sounds. This allowed for a greater impact on the audience, including myself by the expression of pain. Using different body parts to create sound through either dragging her foot, taking a deep breath or simply hitting her arm and legs on the ground gave an indescribable sensation to the audience.

The usage of water on stage not only allowed for variance and difficulty within the performance but gave a different visual to the situation presented. Beginning with absolute silence and darkness brought in curiousness as well as altering the warm and cool tone of the lights along with the amount of light present shaped the atmosphere of the entire performance. Creating intensity by the addition and subtraction of instrumental music created a tone of darkness, increasing the intensity of the situation. Taking pauses throughout her piece along with the looks given allowed for the audience to understand the act, understanding how a female body is looked down on and should be expressed rather than suppressed. Through her facial expressions, she was able to display pain and difficulty through hesitating her actions, while other situations throughout the piece brought pleasure through flowing her movement. Overall, I felt as though the act expressed how hesitation and social normalities shape a female’s character and interactions, stuttering her way through life.

Hansika Chawla is a first-year Nursing student at the University of Calgary. She is a member of Madhuban Performing Arts, an organization outside of the university, specializing in an array of Indian and western forms. Throughout the years, Hansika has adapted and practised multiple varieties of dance forms from India, such as Bollywood, Rajasthani folk, and semi-classical, as well as hip hop and contemporary fusion.