.: Thierry "Titi" Robin :.

"From the Khorassan to Rajasthan,
from the shores of the Ourmia lake to the ochre dunes of the Thar desert,
from the land of Hafez to the skies of Mira Bai,
an ocean of poetry languidly stretches,
a wave of songs and rhythms…”

from "Rajasthan"
published by Ed du Garde-Temps

GIPSY DANCER "KALBELIYA" FROM RAJASTHAN In Rajasthan, North-West India, numerous nomads wander the Thar desert or camp on the outskirts of its large towns. Amongst them there are the Gaduliya Lohars (blacksmiths and cartwrights), the Banjaras (originally in charge of the salt business) and the Kalbeliyas Saperas, who charm snakes and treat their bites, according to the teachings of their master Kanipav Nath. Gulabi belongs to this last community. She is undoubtedly the person who has contributed the most to the acknowledgement of these casts both in her country and abroad, while at the same time remaining in constant conflict, and this since her childhood days, with the overly strict rules that have hindered her. Today she is renowned in much of the sub-continent as well as in its Diaspora, known as the little Gipsy who even dazzled Rajiy Gandhi with her snake dance (the animal with which she identifies herself), her virtuosity and the rhythmical trance-like energy of her choreographic improvisations.
		photo: Christian berthelot

Her style is not any closer to the “Kathak”, North India’s classical dance well known in the West, to the dances made popular by Bombay’s musicals. Nor should one take her choreographic style as just one more “World folklore” (an often meaningless name moreover) on account that her culture is that of a non-Western country. The sapera dance performed on stage today is largely due, in its current form, to the choreographic vocabulary that Gulabi developed during her youth.
		Gulabo seen by Bill Akwa Bétoté

Globally-speaking this phenomenon can be compared to the musical style of Western Europe’s Gipsies as established in the thirties by an inspired musician with a great personality, Django Reinhardt, basing his work on pre-existing tradition and giving form to the era’s musical upheavals. His style of playing became the almost “traditional” instrumental model for a whole people and for ‘gadje’ (non-gipsy) amateurs. Similarly, Gulabi created an original choreographic language as a result of both her personal genius and tradition, at the same time setting the scene, while breaking certain social taboos, for performances of the Kalbeliya dance on stage. Hence her style has become a reference for her cast’s identity with Indian and international audiences. Today, young dancers like Suwa Devi or Santi Sapera (to name but a few) enrich this vocabulary with their own qualities.


And Gulabi, as a contemporary dancer continuously renewing her choreographic vocabulary, was a sensation at the last Virasat Festival in Jaipur, in January 2004, when she danced to music by Thierry Robin’s trio, surprising her most enthusiastic admirers, numerous in India, by her daring innovations on non-rhythmical musical improvisations, developing a language that many of the journalists present described as “learned”.
		photo and painting: Eric Roux-Fontaine

GULABI’S CHILDHOOD “When I was very little, about six months old, I was greatly attached to my father. He was a snake charmer and went to demonstrate his skill in the streets every day. Each time he left, I would watch him go and start to cry as I wanted to follow him. The same thing happened every day. One evening when he came home, he discovered that I had a very high fever. He asked why I was sick, and my mother replied: “She saw you leave, she heard the pungi that you use to charm the snake and has not stopped crying since. That is why she has a fever.” “But how could such a little child come with me? She has to stay at home so that her mother can breastfeed her, it is impossible for her to follow me.” He was very surprised at my reaction. Then he thought: “There must be a bond between her and the sap (snake).” From that day on, every morning he took me with him and the snake. Nevertheless, he was amazed as a child that age drinks its mother’s milk throughout the day. “Will she be able to spend the whole day without drinking?” The first day that I left with my father, the snake was in one basket and me in the other. I spent all day next to my father, I watched the snake dance, I was not hungry, I stayed like that, with a little water to drink that my father gave me. Where I come from, we wouldn’t ever give a child milk other than her mother’s milk. I spent the whole day without eating anything. So every day we walked the streets together, asking for charity and having the snake perform its dance. I was happy. It was then that my father began to give me a little of the milk he had for the snake, that the villagers had given him. It is traditional to give the snake milk after its dance, and I would drink from the same bowl with the sap. From the very beginning, I was always in motion, even if I didn’t know how to walk. I moved while I watched the snake. I did not start walking particularly early, but I had so much energy that I danced all the time. As soon as I began to walk, I started to dance. When I was one, I would dance around the snake, and sometimes I would pick it up and put it around my neck, winding it around my body or on my head. Sometimes I would fall over, but I got up straightaway and carried on dancing.” extract from the book-CD "Gulabi Sapera, Danseuse gitane du Rajasthan" Published by Naïve/Actes Sud
		Titi and Gulabo (photo: Bill Akwa Bétoté)

TITI & GULABO's PRESSBOOK (extracts) "Thierry "Titi" Robin is an exceptional artist both for his personality and his artistic sensitivity. His previous musical achievements were characterised by a coherence of style, derived from his still deepening interest in Gypsy culture, which for him is an inexhaustible source of inspiration and the basis for colourful artistic marriages with Roma artists from all over the world. His first encounters with traditional Gypsy music (as well as Arabian music, which also has had an enormous influence on his artistic development) started when as a teenager he moved from the village of Rochefort Sur Loire in the east of France, to Angers, a city crowded with immigrants, mainly Arabs and Gypsies. It was there, during his first playing sessions with peers of different cultural background, that his musical sensitivity was formed. It allowed him to treat those musical traditions as his own. In the early 80s he initiated his co-operation with Hameed Khan, a tabla player from Rajasthan, who has accompanied him for many years. His project with Breton vocalist Erik Marchand is also worth mentioning. As a trio they explored the themes of both central Brittany and the Orient. But the recording that was received with greatest acclaim from the critics and listeners was not released until 1993. On Gitans, Robin and Khan were joined by Roma musicians from Spain to Rajasthan, including 'The Gypsy Queen of Rajasthan,' Gulabi Sapera, a vocalist of unique voice timbre, who enriched this project with warmth and tenderness. His friendship with Sapera has led to their co-operations on numerous occasions, resulting in Rakhi. The opening track, "Holi Yaad," introduces the listener to the unique atmosphere of the album. Gulabi's singing is calm and nostalgic; the minimalist but balanced rhythm section and the delicate sound of Robin's guitar immerse the listener in a pleasant swing. The following tracks intensify this feeling. As it progresses, a reggae vibe appears and becomes a pervasive element of some of the tracks to follow. Gulabi's voice often converses with male voices (Bruno El Gitano, Farid, Roberto Saadna 'Yakeen,' Saway Nath 'Neem,' and 'Rumba de India'), making the music more complete. Tensions subtlely rise and fall down. Paradoxically the most ascetic track 'Bichu Rap' draws the greatest attention. It is a kind of a dialogue between a woman and a man or even a quarrel. It is overflowing with emotions: joy, anger, grief are expressed in a theatrical way, to leave no one indifferent to what is being sung. "Shadi ke badh" comes back to the mood of some previous tracks. Robin's first solo reminds us that it is their common achievement, even as he devotes it almost entirely to Sapera. In his previous work the instruments he played - oud, bouzouki or guitar - were always in the forefront. This time is different; his instrument is still important but is played consciously in the background to expose what is most valuable in this project, Gulabi Sapera's voice. Rakhi is not so directly appealing as Gitans or other earlier works. But it is uniquely successful, fully linked to the previous achievements of the artist and a continuation of his chosen path. The sense of artistry and authenticity makes the album undoubtedly worth listening." - Piotr Pucylo, ROOTSWORLD Gulabo (fourteen years old) in family at the camp


Music beyond boundaries "Gulabi Sapera and Thierry Robin represent the world stage with their respective styles of music and dance. Their effort also reflects the harmony of rural Indian and western modern music culture. HERS IS a fairy tale fling to fame; his is a blessing of the muses. For how can one explain two diametrically placed persons meeting on the musical firmament. She hails from the remote tribal region of Rajasthan in India and he belongs to the fashion rich France. The cordon of language between the two is as thick and hard as the Great Wall of China. Yet they communicate, collaborate and create some of the best contemporary music one can ever get to hear. She is Gulabi Sapera, the girl who had danced her way into the western hearts way back in the 80s. He is Thierry Robin whose life is tuned to bringing a synthesis of the east with West through music. Together they perform, reaching out to the world at large and attesting that art recognises no boundaries, no barriers. "From 1992, we've been performing together. We were able to cut three to four CDs , Rakhi being our latest venture,'' they clarify. She sings while he plays for the records while she dances to his tunes on stage. Thierry Robin is fired with the zest to bring the two cultures together into one harmonious union with distinct identities that can merge in music. Gulabi is too glad to be a professional companion to such an amity crusade." Ranee Kumar, THE HINDU cover for the first video tape (New Delhi - 1991)
		photo Eric Roux-Fontaine

TITI AND GULABI seen by the photographer Louis Vincent "salam"
		(Louis Vincent)

"from JIVULA's poster"
		(Louis Vincent)

"family" show
		(Louis Vincent)

extract from one poster's project
		(Louis Vincent)

Payo Michto extract from the cover
		(photo: F. Carnevali)

Jaipuri newspaper 2006


Gulabi and Titi stopped working together since 2007.
		photo Louis Vincent december 2007