Dea has sharp intuition and a diverse range of compositional and instrumental skills in his repertoire, including a remarkable voice, which he used imaginatively to pull the diverse elements of the work together. Perhaps blending a Javanese compositional base with gamelan, Carnatic vocals and percussion into a work centred on classical Indian dance and ancient philosophy gave it a post-modern feel and a world-music edge.

The choreography also trod the fine line between the classical and the contemporary, though the partnership was unsteady at times. Intense emotion and contemporary sensuality were often suddenly interrupted by lengthy solos firmly grounded in classical traditions. While it was a privilege to watch master performer Anandavalli dance pure bharatanatyam, in the overall context of the choreography, some of the longer solos tended to negate the mood that had previously been established. Ramli was more successful in cleverly traversing between the odissi basis of his solo work and his contemporary-dance background. Nevertheless, Anandavalli and Ramli's duet Anger, supported by the company, was exceptional as the two luminaries came together in style and form.

However, it was the company dancers that captured my attention. They were expressive with the whole body (the essence of contemporary dance) rather than predominately relying on hand gestures and facial expressions (the basis of the classical Indian forms). Creatively explored deconstruction of the Indian classical dance vocabulary led to some innovative movement and holistically connected the theme, music and emotional energy of the work.

The fluid, sensual movements of Sutra Dance Theatre's Guna recalled a young Nijinsky in his famous 1912 ballet L'après-midi d'un faune. Members of Australia's Lingalayam Dance Company were assured and graceful in their movements, and both groups caught the momentum of the choreography and danced seamlessly together. The use of masks, with the dancers alternatively facing front and back, supported the notion of "unmasking" the face and the emotional basis of the dance. The minimalist costumes of flowing fabric echoed the traditional sari, and the set and lighting design by Sivarajah Natarajan placed Rasa Unmasked firmly in the present.

Rasa Unmasked revealed many of the contradictions and dilemmas that occur in collaborations that transcend countries, dance traditions, ideas and egos. While it had many beautiful moments of sublime sensuality and exquisite movement that drew on a variety of classical Indian forms and contemporary dance, the performance was uneven and at times it was obvious when the limits of a personal, philosophical or contextual comfort zone had been reached. Despite these challenges, there were some impressive performances by two luminaries of classical Indian dance and their dancers.