KAMBAKHT ISHQ

Rollicking original comedy-dance showcase for Chatsworth.

A rollicking original comedy-dance showcase, Kambakht Ishq will be staged at the Rajput Hall in Chatsworth for one weekend only from May 28 to 30.

Conceived, produced and choreographed by the Melanie Kisten Dance Academy, Kambakht Ishq (loosely translated as “Damn Love”) tells the story of love, infidelity and reconciliation as lived by a host of distinctly Chatsworth characters: two friends who really aren’t good for each other; a wife who nags, a husband who drinks, a girl who is lost and a detective who is found.

The Melanie Kisten Dance Academy is a dance school and a production academy. It trains 250 students in a myriad dance forms and produces and participates in major performing arts projects. The principle, Melanie Kisten, has created a comedy dance showcase with a strong narrative as a platform to showcase the talent of her dancers and the skills of her associates in a cast which includes Anesh Dusrath and Pranesh Maharaj.

Kambakht Ishq is based around Roy - a local worker who is in need for fun and excitement which he is not getting from his marriage. Kista, his so-called friend, introduces him to the world of one type of fun - MXIT – which, of course, spells trouble! Melanie Kisten has set the tone of the production as somewhere between stereotypical Chatsworth interwoven with spoofs of familiar TV shows such as Cheaters. The overall effect is designed to make audiences laugh, cry and tap their feet.

“I want to give the people a show like they have not seen yet.” said Kisten. “Whilst most dance extravaganzas include a thin story line to enhance the production value and sell it; this one speaks for itself in the elaborate set, lighting and costumes,” explains Kisten who ran a stringent audition process to secure a top quality 35-member cast and is very proud of the production’s technical infrastructure. “The music for this production needed to inform the story-line and be highly entertaining yet familiar,” she adds. “The standards are high in the industry at present, and we needed to match if not exceed the industry yardstick. We hope that patrons are going to be dazzled.”

Kambakht Ishq runs from May 28 to 30 at the Rajput Hall, Chatsworth. Tickets R50 booked through Computicket or call 083 235 1207 or e-mail melanie@producera.co.za