Allahabad: Daksha Sheth and her troupe's contemporary dance performances electrified students, faculty and the 6 Nobel Laureates present at the venue of the Science Conclave on Thursday (December 18, 2008) at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (IIIT-A).

Daksha Sheth, whose work has imbibed Kathak from North-India, Kallaripayattu from the south, Chahau from East India, Mallakhamb from the Western side of the country as well as Yoga and varied Akhada traditions, kept the 1000-strong audience glued to their seats in spite of the biting cold, for almost two hours.

Her troupe, comprising of eleven dancers, performed ten compositions in quick succession much to the amazement and delight of the Laureates who were thrilled to see so much energy and vitality in the performances.

As Nobel Laureate Jerome Friedman jokingly remarked over dinner after watching Daksha's performance, "There was more energy in their performance than in a fission reactor."

Full Coverage of the Science Conclave 2008

Daksha, as she describes herself, has always been something of a rebel in the Indian dance world - a brilliant and highly respected young Kathak dancer who "went astray" and ventured into uncharted terrain.

The deviations and surprise turns in her dance career have confused many, including her admirers, and confounded those who like to pigeon-hole artists with convenient labels.

With her immense talent, a total belief in herself and the courage to follow her intuition, Daksha has always followed her own path. And with a fiery reputation to boot, she has ruffled many feathers through the years, but in the process she has created works that have stretched the boundaries of Indian dance.

Describing herself, Daksha says she can be termed as a dancer, performer, choreographer and an artiste. She describes her acts as contemporary Indian dance derived from rich Indian traditions that still exist in martial arts, ceremonial arts, ritual arts, folk forms and of course classical forms.

There is arguably no dancer in India who has explored such a range of movement idioms and has performed with excellence in so many diverse styles.

From Kathak to Mayurbhanj Chhau to Contemporary Dance, Daksha has made her mark at the top in each idiom.

Here though is no dilettante dabbling in different fields; on the contrary, each step in her journey represents an investment of years of hard work. Hers is a life driven by a passion for dance that has subsumed all other considerations.

Says Daksha Sheth, speaking to the NNE journalist, "It was a wonderful experience. The energy of this place (IIIT-Allahabad) is amazing. It's a very vibrant place and the students responded so wonderfully. Even though what they saw was something they have never seen before. The students were transported to a different dimension in space-time."

She was also all praises for Founding Director M.D. Tiwari who has steered the Nobel Laureates Science Conclave 2008 from choppy seas caused by the terror attacks in Mumbai to the calm waters of the bay making the event a grand success.

Daksha says she would love to perform at the IIIT again. She also wants to perform at all other similar educational institution all over the country.

As the young, energetic and beautiful Mira Shah - one of Daksha's brilliant dancers calls it - "sheer poetry in action and sublimity in divinity".

By: Flynn Remedios at IIIT-Allahabad