Dance : A Display of Pakistani Arts at Occidental

The Southland’s Pakistani community and other aficionados of classical Indian culture turned out en masse (and in fabulous traditional costume) Saturday evening in Thorne Hall at Occidental College, for what might be called a fusion event.

Part trendy supernatural fantasy, part didactic lecture and part sublime performance, “Amir and the Student,” produced by the newly formed Pakistan Arts Council of the Pacific Asia Museum, was a valiant attempt to provide context for recitals by classical dancer Naheed Siddiqui, a Pakistani now resident in the United Kingdom, and Arifa Siddiqui, a vocalist who came from Pakistan for the occasion.

Scott Whitesell acted Hamid, a self-absorbed Pakistani-American sitar student feeling edgy on the eve of his sister’s wedding. His revery was invaded by a vision of Amir Khusrau (played by Parke McAlister), a 13th-Century poet and musician who invented the sitar and wrote verse in Urdu and Hindi that has remained popular for 700 years.

Their dialogue framed a glorious wedding procession, a shower and a ceremony; members of the local community enacted the nuptials as Arifa Siddiqui, resplendent in traditional silks, offered several songs, accompanied by Ghulam Sarwar Sabri on tabla, Babuji Srivastav on sitar and Mohammad Baksh on harmonium.

In the second half of the long program, Kathak dancer Naheed Siddiqui offered dances in homage to and accompanied by the music of Amir Khusrau.

An ample woman, Siddiqui gathered her considerable force and sent it through her hands, bare feet, bright eyes and bobbing head, spiraling to the complex patterns and holding a rhythmic vocal dialogue with the musicians. In five items ranging from romantic reveries to mimed riddles to abstracted free improvisation, her authority captivated the audience.