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In just a few short days, 鈥�鈥� will ensorcel Sydney audiences with an embodied story of yearning, lust, and desire. The work is part of Sydney Dance Company鈥檚 , and will see internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer put a contemporary queer spin on the tradition of Bharatanatyam.

Gurusamy, a biracial gay man born in Perth, traces the seeds of his illustrious career back to聽 his mother.

鈥淢y mum danced with me when she was pregnant,鈥� Gurusamy recalled, 鈥渟o I鈥檝e literally been dancing since I was -9 months old.鈥�

Little did his mother know, Gurusamy would move to India a mere 18 years later to study a classical form of the art. After being accepted into the prestigious Bharathanatyam conservatorium Kalakshetra, Gurusamy became the only Australian to graduate from the institution鈥檚 gruelling six-year course.

鈥淚 think that Bharatanatyam is not exactly an easy sell,鈥� Gurusamy said of the classical dance form native to Tamil Nadu, South India. 鈥淏ut you know what it is. It鈥檚 almost like lip-sincing, without the lip movement. It鈥檚 how much you can embody a song while not singing the lyrics yourself. When you see the amount of make-up I wear [in 5 Arrows], I mean, I鈥檓 just one breastplate away from drag.鈥�

Where Pop Meets Tradition: The Inspiration Behind 5 Arrows

According to Gurusamy, 5 Arrows draws inspiration from a number of popular queer anthems, notably 鈥淚 will survive鈥� by Gloria Gainer, 鈥淐razy in Love鈥� by Beyonce, and 鈥淧art of My World鈥� from The Little Mermaid. Alongside these contemporary influences, Gurusamy鈥檚 own love life among them, South Asian traditions ground the work.

Notably, 鈥淢ohamana鈥�, an 18th century piece of Carnatic music composed by the Tanjore Quartet, underpins the entire performance. Meanwhile, the narrative draws heavily from the seminal lore found in the work鈥檚 title.聽

鈥淲ithin Hinduism,鈥� Gurusamy explained, 鈥渢he five flower tipped arrows of Cupid, or 鈥淢膩ran鈥� in Tamizh, are what hit a person when they鈥檙e in love. One hits your lips and it makes you want to kiss someone. One hits your eyes and it makes you cry. One hits your heart and it makes you聽 yearn. One hits your mind and makes you delirious.聽聽

鈥淭he fifth arrow is supposed to create death,鈥� Gurusamy mused. 鈥淪upposedly, it hits you in the genitals.鈥�

Of the performance, Gurusamy explained he is not simply following fixed choreography. Instead, the work is improvised. He is evoking real emotions from his past – desperation, limerence, yearning – and responding to them in real time. That is, he is being pierced by all five of Cupid’s flower-tipped arrows live.

鈥淵ou have to have been in a devastating relationship,鈥� Gurusamy said, 鈥渁nd know what it is to be touched. You can鈥檛 make that up. You use memories of what it felt like to be touched, and activate them through the performance.鈥�

Unsurprisingly, Gurusamy credits this use of lived memory with giving 5 Arrows its visceral power.

鈥淚t makes the work have a potency that is really electric,鈥� Gurusamy said. 鈥淲hile I stand on stage, the entire room can feel how I feel.鈥�

Indeed, Gurusamy鈥檚 embodiment of past love, queer love, seems to resonate with 17c起草社区+ audiences.

鈥淲hen I performed this piece last year,鈥� Gurusamy recalled, 鈥淚 had a lot of queer people come up to me afterwards and go like 鈥業 feel like I watched my story of me and my lover through you鈥�. I found that really remarkable.鈥�

How 5 Arrows is Queering Gender

While much of the queerness of 5 Arrows stems from Gurusamy expressing his own lived experience, this is only enhanced by the fact that the piece itself is an act of gender play. In it, Gurusamy does not play a hero, but a heroine.

鈥淭he Nayika is a woman who is in complete control of her sexuality,鈥� Gurusamy said. 鈥淪he has agency, and she has a voice. There are poems from 8th century Tamil Nadu that [describe her]. We鈥檙e talking about a time where, in England, women weren鈥檛 even allowed to write books. Meanwhile, the Nayika represents a woman completely liberated.鈥�

鈥淚 allow both myself and the Nayika to come at the same time through one body. So there鈥檚 a duality of perspective that is happening. I am both Chris and the Nayika at the same time.鈥澛�

Gurusamy explained that it is precisely his queerness that enables him to hold both a masculine and feminine perspective in one body. For him, channeling the Nayika transcends the gay impulse to admire powerful female characters. More than that, it is an act of queer rebellion.

鈥淚 think as a queer person that has done the work to understand who they are, standing in your own knowledge of who you are and not being afraid of that is so powerful. I know a lot of cultural work is about finding yourself. About 鈥榳ho am I?鈥�. But this isn鈥檛 that. This is a celebration of knowing exactly who you are.鈥�

Somewhat paradoxically, Gurusamy explains that embodying the Nayika has allowed him to step into his own power.聽

鈥淚 am a terrible flirt in a club. But on stage? I am the best flirt in the entire world. I have no shame. That鈥檚 why I feel like it’s almost like drag, because you鈥檙e the best version of yourself. No one can touch you. That diva comes out, where I鈥檓 still Chris, but I鈥檓 the ultimate diva Chris.

鈥淚n that sense, 5 Arrows is the antithesis to Andrew Tate and the manosphere. It represents a world where being 鈥榝em鈥� is not a bad thing.鈥�

It’s Giving Opulence: Saris, Glamour, & Camp.

Of course, Gurusamy鈥檚 passion for dance extends far beyond advocating for gender deconstruction and self-expression. When asked what keeps the soloist dancing, Gurusamy鈥檚 answer was surprising.聽

鈥淭he saris,鈥� Gurusamy sighed, rather dreamily.

Returning to a more serious tone, Gurusamy explained that these traditional South Asian garments, one of which can be seen draping elegantly over his legs in 5 Arrows, are truly a sight to behold.

鈥淭he gold that鈥檚 on a sari is actual gold. It鈥檚 stunning. It comes from a tradition of silk and gold and rubies and diamonds and emeralds. The jewelry is huge. The eye make-up is huge. It鈥檚 opulent. It鈥檚 not exoticised, but it is exotic. It鈥檚 colour, joy, and all those things that India is, that queerness is. It鈥檚 about being bigger than yourself and celebrating being exactly who you are.鈥�

Admittedly, this also makes 5 Arrows camp as hell.

In this spirit of radical sincerity and fearlessness, Gurusamy encourages audiences not to be deterred by all the pretence that often shrouds classical dance. According to Gurusamy, no knowledge of technical jargon or stylistic literacy is required to enjoy 5 Arrows. Rather, the only thing you need to enjoy this dance, or any other, is the will to connect with the dancer.

鈥淭here is no right or wrong way to watch dance,鈥� Gurusamy explained. 鈥淵ou could come and sit in the audience and know absolutely nothing about [Bharatanatyam], and still feel some form of emotion. And that鈥檚 enough.鈥�

鈥淎ll you have to do is let the form wash over you, and take away from it what you will.鈥�