Music in and for Bharathanatyam-A survey report (Part2)

Continued from Part 1

Music for dance-Discussion

Everyone(data from 27 survey forms used) surveyed expected dance recitals to be accompanied by good music, but interestingly even at the onset, Soumya Tilak adds that “good music“as an accompaniment would go on to mean “one that matches and complements the dance”. The respondents from within India placed a slightly higher expectation on the standards of music accompanying dance

Singing the Song flawlessly is just a Bare minimum!

While the dancers are slightly more tolerant to singers who can flawlessly render the recital songs (as in repeat the taught song perfectly), the rasikas and expectedly the musicians feel that that would be a bare minimum, as expressed in Mr. Rama Varma’s words as “that would at least be something”.

How is dance singing different from vocal concert singing?

While pondering on the thought that dance singing requires a different set of techniques as compared to vocal concert singing, the respondents came up with a variety of responses. An attempt will be made to highlight the important ideas.

Differential techniques for Dance Singing

“All said and done, the structure of a dance recital is not (and cannot be) the same as the structure of a music concert.”(Rajendra Kumar).  We may see that music specially for dance existed even during the period of the Tanjore quartette . (Lakshmi Ramasamy) There is a general consensus and agreement that dance singing requires a different set of techniques as compared to vocal concert singing.”

Some special requirements pointed out as essential for dance singing include:-

• Acknowledging that the dance is the prime subject of interest: Dance musician should be good enough not to distract attention from dance, yet be a good compliment (Aishwarya Ananth, Lakshmi Ramasamy, Padma Balakumar), match their manodharmam to that of the dancers. (Manjari Rajendrakumar)
• Being observant: At dance concert there is so much to observe says Shantha.S. A dance musician as opposed to having his/her own flow in a solo (vocal) concert, he/she has to take the cue from the dance and the dancer (S. Srinivasan) The dancers are able to articulate on this “taking- of- cue” aspect a little more which is explained in the portion on improvisation for dance.
• An understanding of the dance technique: in the singer to enable synchronisation and apt accompaniment (Manjari Rajendrakumar and Aishwarys Ananth)
• Need For Expressive Singing -Dance requires bhava and musicians in general stick to technique of music than the meaning of sahitya, sometimes even distorting intended meaning. (Madhana Raghavan, Lakshmi Ramasamy). Musicians require an ability to emote along with dancer (Sruthi) and inturn through their music help the dancer emote (Madhana Raghavan).
• Adapting to the kalapramanam for the dance recital: The kalapramana that he has to follow for dance will be different from that of a vocal recital (Kavitha Ramu) The need for more expressive singing as pointed out in the last point and the predominant use of pada varnams, padams and javalis require the singer to sing at speeds slower than they would at a music concert. The kalapramanam must facilitate an aesthetic use of angika and satvika abhinaya. For those musicians who accompany budding dancers there may arise occasions to subtly and imperceptibly alter kalapramanam.
• Be adept at nadai variations: Lot of mathematical /rhythmic variations in the nritta part/thattimetti parts will make it important for a dance musician to be talam and Nadai perfect.(Anupriya)
• I would probably add neat pronounciation to the list.

It should be noted that the respondents do not feel that these aspects are not necessary for concert singing, but are facets that specially go into making a dance singer successful.

Raga sketching for dance recitals

All respondents believe that it would definitely be ideal if the accompanying musician could appropriately sketch ragas before the song. One rasika points that a raga outlining ahead of the songs, even if short, makes the presentation more complete and helps the rasika and the dancer shift easily into the mood of the next piece. Another, points out that ready-made instant 2 line ragas (esp the beginning nattai) with the same repititive phrases can be such a pain. Why don’t they experiment enough to create another 2 line pattern in nattai he asks?

Improvisation for dance

The topic of improvisation and creativity seems to invoke a lot of reflection.  One rasika points out that “a musician who sings exactly the same way on any 2 given days is consistent alright, but boring and is not much better than a CD!” This is more important in the dance circuit as repetition of items is a regular feature. Putting up a similar idea in nice words Nrithya Pillai says “(they need to) know how to sing for sancharis- how to sing the same line differently several times without boring an audience. This should definitely be a point to consider when the dancer is presenting a 30+ mins varnam built on sancharis. Sometimes the pallavi is repeated more than 20 times and it definitely requires some talent in the musician to keep away the auditory boredom that can easily step in if appropriate variation is not attempted. You definitely wouldn’t want somebody to say “padinathaye thenja record mathiri padinduirrukan” quips a rasika and that could in-turn mean that all the hard work of the choreographer and  dancer in building up the sanchari may get lost. Lakshmi Ramasamy feels that during the elaboration during the sancharis the singer must be able to hit the right sthayi and retain it for as long as it is needed. Kavitha Ramu on a similar vein says “the singer has to understand to look at the dancer while singing which will help her/him decide where she/he has to provide an emphasis and where he/she has to be subtle.”

Hamsa Venkat also points out that the musicians stance should be tailored for the particular program – (The need to sing just the song or elaborate on a raga and improvise) “depends on the needs of the dancer, if a dancer only wants to present readymade items then there may not be much need (for improvisation or singing a raga” This situation may be associated with less traditional venues for performing.

Challenges posed to the dance Musician

“(In) concert singing, the musician can have a vision, and let his/her creativity present this vision, for dance singing it is the dancer’s vision and the singer gives shape to this vision with their musical creativity”, opines Hamsa Venkat.  In a way, the singer is restricted to an extent by the arrangement of the dance ponders Sumi Krishnan. “(Though) they (dance musicians) are part of the support staff and their first duty is to ensure that the dance programme is a success. …singing for dance is in no way inferior”, declares Rajendra Kumar. A  Passionate dancer (assumed pseudonym) and Lakshmi Ramasamy see that dance singing can be a challenge to the musicians, just as Asha Ramesh opined. “The vocalist has to follow the dancer, adapt the singing according to the expressions and stories told by the dancer and enable the dancer to react to the music as well…yes, it is very challenging!”(Passionate Dancer). Staying with technique, simultaneously complimenting the dance and the dancer, keeping track of the required number of repetitions, patching flaws of dancer and other musicians, yet proving their skill is the challenge to the dance musician says Lakshmi Ramasamy

Jayakamala Pandian, daughter of Guru Sri. Swamimalai Rajaratnam Pillai  sums it up saying “singing for dance and concert singing are two different areas and one can specialise in both, like how a same dancer can perform two different forms of classical dance forms like Bharathanatyam and odissi or kuchipudi and Bharathanatyam. Concert singing needs expertise in Alapana, kalpana swaram, niraval, Ragam Thanam Pallavi and so on. Singing for dance needs expertise in sanchari singing which can be compared with niraval and perfect coordination with the dancer and the nattuvanar. Also the dance singer should know to control his creativity,  follow the dancer with restriction besides proving his artistry.” And above all the musician needs to carve a niche to establish himself/herself in the field. Seems like asking for quite a lot from the dance musician!

Lakshmi Ramasamy suggests that for those carnatic musicians wanting to take a plunge into dance singing suggests they attend dance concerts to learn to bridge the gaps.

PS: Most if not all of the responses used the masculinine pronoun “he” ( I reduced the gender bias by adding in the he/she in the above report) while referring to the singer. I am not reading or concluding anything here !!! 

• • Are Carnatic musicians happy accompanying dance recitals? Does attending dance concerts improve their musical abilitities and sensibilities?
  • Is an aptitude or knowledge of carnatic music essential to dancers?
  • Can CD replace live music accompaniment?

The responses to these questions will be discussed in part 3 of the series.

Filed under: Arts, Australia, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, CD, Carnatic Music, India, Malaysia, NRI, Padam, Prince Rama Varma, Rasika, UK, USA, academics, artists, choreograhers, do's and don'ts for dancers, learning , Lakshmi Ramaswamy, Kavitha Ramu, Rajendrakumar, Manjari Rajendrakumar, Aishwarya Ananth, Jayakamala Pandian

Soorya Festival at Malaysia- Report

The Soorya Festival of Indian Music and Dance featuring the dance recital by the Dhananjayans was held at 2 locations in Malaysia on the 6th and 7th of November, 2009. I attended the festival on the 7th held at MAS (Malaysian Airlines) auditorium at Kelana Jaya. The proceeds from the tickets for the show went into helping the Malaysian association for the Blind. The tickets were reasonably priced starting at a reasonable rate of RM 30 (approx USD 10). I am thankful to the organizers and sponsors and the artistes who I believe didnt charge for the peformance for making it so.  Some Indian dance performance tickets were priced as high as RM150 , so presumably aiming at helping the charities didn’t target the middle-class Indians.

The program held on 7th, the festival included the following events- a Carnatic Music concert, felicitation of the local artistes and a dance recital. The event started at 7.30pm and was due to finish at around 10.45pm. It was very pleasant since the speeches by the dignitaries consisted of just 2 sentences or less .

The function began with a prayer song by Preeta Prasad, a Malaysian Carnatic vocalist. She sang the Vinayaga sthuthi ”Mudhakaratha Modhakam” which she would easily have done better justice to, had she sung 1/2 kattai less. She was probably involved in a lot of the organizational activities and was breathless. She handled the tambura for the music and dance concert as well.

The Carnatic Music concert by the couple, Trivandrum Krishnakumar and Binny Krishnakumar followed. Binny krishnakumar was introduced as the ” Chandramukhi ra-ra” playback singer. Both of them are currently disciples of Dr.M. Balamuralikrishna. They were accompanied by Malaysian violinist Sri. Achyuthan Sashidharan Nair and Mridangist Sri.  Sivabalan Shanmuga Sundaram .

The couple had interestingly planned their short concert by including songs with a variety of thalams. The concert featured the following songs:-

1. Rakshamam Sharanagatham- Nattai- Adi, a  composition of Meenakshisuthan, tuned by Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar. A fiery presentation, though I felt there was a slight hurry for the sharanagathi.
2. This was followed by a pleasing “Gopalaka Palimam Anisam” in  ragam Bhoopalam and set to Misra chapu.
3. An alapana in Hamsanandhi complete with the application of swarabedham technique showing shades of Hindolam followed . The kriti chosen was Paavana guru (Thalam: Rupakam, Composer: Lalitha Dasa). The violinist did not help much with the neraval here, I was almost at the edge of my seat a couple of times with this uneasy feeling that he was going to touch the absent pa sometime . Somehow choosing Hamsanandhi after Bhoopalam wasnt too easy on my ears, but I aint any expert, though. During the thaniavardhanam, the  mridangist wasnt showing enough of sruthi and then a mridangam can sound like the melam at times!
4. The next song was “Muruganai ninaikadha neramillai” in ragam Bageshri and Adi talam, quite a rare piece.
5. They concluded their recital with a BMK thillana in Ragamalika .

A quick award ceremony to felicitate local artistes followed. The “Kalaseva Award” was given to Bharathanatyam artistes Guru (Smt) Vatsala Sivadas, Guru (Smt) Meena Venugopal (Dis of the Dhananjayans) and Sri. Shankar Kandasamy of TFA who is now quite famous in the Madras dance recital circuit too. I remember reading a review of his performance last year by Ms. Nrithya Pillai at Carnatic Darbar . The ceremony was real quick with no bugging speech from the VIPs. God bless the organizers!

The dance concert started immediately after the awardees cleared the stage. The Dhananjayanas were accompanied by their disciples Dhivya Shiva, Gopukiran, Veena Sashidharan and Lavanya Raghuram (Alapana Arts , Singapore). They were efficiently accompanied by Sri. N. Sashidharan (vocal),  Kalaiarasan Ramanathan(violin) and K. P. Ramesh Babu (mridangam).

The recital presented the evergreen choreographies of the Dhanajayans as per the request of the organizers. The recital began with an Anjali performed by the three girls with Sri. Gopukiran handling the Nattuvangam.

The next item presented excerpts from VPD’s  Raamanaatkam. While introducing the item, VPD said that they had choreographed this way back in 1974 as “Ekaharya Lasyangam Ramayana” meaning that the characterization depended on the body language of the dancers rather than the costume itself. He also pointed out that back then they presented it in simple practice costumes. He said that this choreography of theirs has been staged  for over 500  times. The 3 main characters who appeared in this potryal were Kaikeyi (Dhivya). Mantara/Kooni ( Smt. Shantha Dhananjayan) and King Dasaratha (Sri.VPD). Gopukiran handled the nattuvangam for this piece too. The portrayal went down very well with the audience. The Dhanajayans were able to reach across the audience with their clear, simple and elegant choreography.

En palli Kondeeraiya, a padam that narrates briefly the story of Rama and Krishna was performed at a brisk pace by Veena, Lavanya and Gopukiran. Smt. Shantha took over the nattuvangam at this point and I couldn’t help turning my attention to her at times to watch the quiet confidence and efficiency she brought with her nattuvangam. I was carried back in time  to when I learnt this padam (as a fifth grader) from Smt. Indira Rajan at the home of a co-student, Ms. Alamelu at one those streets tugged behind Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in T- Nagar, Chennai.

After the above mentioned item, VPD appeared on stage and said that it was 10.20pm already and that Nandanaar Charaithram would take a minimum of 20 mins and if it was OK for him to proceed, since he was earlier asked to finish at 10.30pm. The audience were all for it.VPD instructed the vocalist to do away with repetitions and Smt. Shantha, Sri.VPD and Sri. Sashidharan were all taking cues from each other so effectively. That’s the perk of having a regular vocalist, who understands dance and with whom you have an understanding.  Thus began Nandanaar Charitharm with Sri.VPD as Nandanaar and Gopukiran was the  master and later Shiva. The three girls joined in at the end.

The Thillana, Aliveni Padam and Shiva natanam mentioned in the brochure were not performed (But en palli kondeeraiya wasnt mentioned in the brochure either)

The audience gave the artistes a standing ovation and Sri. N. Sashidharan picked a camera from his pocket and clicked a picture of the audience from the stage. Without much ado, the artistes were felicitated and then everyone left home.

Sri. VPD would have been happy since the  couple Carnatic Musicians stayed back to watch the show. What irked me was that there was a lot of to and fro movement in the front few (VIP and Premier seating) rows. The sound and light management wasn’t totally professional. The squeaking microphones at the beginning of the dance show could have very well been avoided. The show seems to have been sold out. The theatre was filled to its maximum capacity. I was also curious about the Malay security guard who came in for the dance recital and stood throughout near the door with his eyes fixed on the stage!

Filed under: Arts, Bharatanatyam, Bharathakalanjali, Bharathanatyam, Carnatic Music, Dance Gurus, Dhananjayan, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Male Bharathanatyam dancer, NRI, Rasika, Shanta, artists, choreography, dance festival, experiences, program, review , Soorya Festival

Music in and for Bharathanatyam- A Survey report (Part 1)

“Geetham vaadyam tathaa nrityam, trayam sangeetham uchyate” – Sangeetha Ratnakara

What’s the scene and perception today?-  A survey report

Introduction

Asha Ramesh, a carnatic vocalist trained under Sangeeta Kalanidhi D. K. Jayaraman was hosted on Jaya TV’s Kalaimalar, their morning talkshow. Now a part of Smt . Ranganayaki Jayaraman’s (saraswathi Gana Nilayam) family, she accompanies dance kutcheris in Chennai and in US where she currently resides. She described her experiences as a dance musician. She mentioned that her Guru wasn’t very happy when she mentioned to him that she was considering accompanying dancers! She believes dance music dosent deserve the step-child treatment it currently receives and believes singing for dance can be an intellectual challenge.

Sri. V.P. Dhananjayan in his book “Beyond Performing Art and Culture – Politico-Social aspects’ by VP Dhananjayan” vehemently regrets the current compartmentalisation of dancers and musicians. He says,” I have a problem with Carnatic musicians who do not attend any Bharatanaatyam performances.  I do not know whether they have a superiority complex or whether they feel that they cannot enjoy a Bharatanaatyam performance. If a musician cannot understand or enjoy a Bharatanaatyam performance, I am sorry to say that they are not a “Sangeetagna”. He has also in a response to a comment on the article said “since publishing this article a couple of years ago, the situation has improved for better.” (As quoted in Narthaki.com)

Bombay Jayasri in her recent interview to Sruti recalls how her early dance training at Rajarajeswary Natyalaya at Bombay helped her accompany Leela Samson’s dance recital

Objectives of the Survey

Inspired by the above, we set about doing an article about Music in and for Bharathanatyam for BN & WWW. We planned to look at the general perceptions regarding music in and for dance among dancers, musicians, teachers and rasikas.

Methodology

A questionnaire was randomly emailed to few dancers, musicians, teachers and rasikas who had interacted with BN and WWW on previous occassions.Sydhwaney.com also hosted the questionnaire on their website and replies posted as comments on their website was also used for collecting data. It should be said at the outset, this study may at best be considered a pilot study since n (the number of respondents) is small and no systematic attempt was made to correlate the surveyed proportion of musicians/dancers/teachers/rasikas to what would be a general representative of people in attendance of a dance recital. But nevertheless this small survey would reflect existing expectations and perceptions in the group surveyed.

The survey questionnaire included a total of 9 questions relating to:-

1. What qualities are expected of a musician accompanying a dance recital? (4 ques)
2. Dancers need for music knowledge/appreciation-(2 ques)
3. Does an appreciation of dance improve skill sets of a musician?(1 ques)
4. Do professional singers feel comfortable accompanying dancers? (1 ques)
5. CD as a substitute for live orchestra (1 ques)

Most of the answers needed the respondents to ascribe a numerical value in the space provided at the end of the question/statement.The respondents were asked to rate their responses to a question/statemenr on a scale of 0- 10 , with 0 meaning you strongly disagree and 10 meaning you strongly agree 

0________________________________________10

strongly disagree                                      strongly agree

 For eg, if they strongly felt that good music accompaniment was necessary for a dance program they would perform/attend they score it 10

 A few optional open ended questions were included and the respondents were also given an option to add related information as they deemed fit. The questionnaire was sent initially to a dancer, rasika and musician to verify the face and content value and aptness of the survey material. Modifications suggested were incorporated. The data collection was done between Oct 25th and Nov 8th, 2009.

Observations:

The  demographics of the responses

A total of responses from 26 respondents are used in this survey. Their classification as dancers, musicians, dance teachers and rasikas are based on their voluntary recommendation appropriate to their current situation. There are a few who definitely belong to 2 classes and we placed them in what we considered was the most appropriate. 54% of the respondents were either dancers or dance teachers, 34% rasikas and 12% were musicians, which is so because of the nature of visitors to this blog. Nevertheless it should be noted that this may not be very different from the actual attendees of a dance concert itself, where the audience consists mainly of dance students, dance teachers, rasikas (a major component being family and friends of students/dancers) and very few musicians. But we may never see 12% of the audience being comprised of musicians!  Again because of the viewership pattern of this blog 42% of the respondents are from India and the rest of the responses came from subjects in USA, UK, Malaysia and Australia. It was also noted that the categories of musicians, dancers, rasikas and teachers were equally distributed among participants of the survey from India and abroad.

Comparison of responses among dancers, musicians and rasikas

Click on the image to view an enlarged version.

Comparison of responses from within and outside India

Click on the Imarge to see an enlarged version

These pictures might just give you an idea with regards to the responses. I believe they will make more sense along with the discussion that I am currently working on using the remarks from the survey.

Part 2- Discussions

Filed under: Abhinaya, Arts, Australia, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, CD, Carnatic Music, Chennai, Dance, India, KL, Kuala Lumpur, London, Madras, NRI, Performing Arts, Rasika, UK, USA, academics, artists, choreography, do's and don'ts for dancers, learning, leela samson, students , survey

Muralidharan’s Nrithyakshethra Dance Academy celebrates 30th Anniversary

Nrithyakshethra Dance Academy run by Gurus Madurai N. Muralidaran and his wife Chithra Muralidaran, is celebrating its 30th anniversary from November 10 to 14, 6.30 p.m., at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and on November 16 at Narada Gana Sabha.

In view of the event, students of the school will present ‘Atula Tala Shanmarga Yagnam’, a full Bharatanatyam repertoire in six rare talams, starting from the traditional pushpanjali to tillana. The concept, script and composition are by Guru Muralidaran. The six talams are: Sankeerana Matyam (20 aksharas), Tisra Dhruvam (11 aksharas), Kanda Jempa (8 aksharas), Kanda Thruputa (9 aksharas), Misra Ekam (7 aksharas) and Misra Roopakam (9 aksharas).

Besides, a dance drama ‘Silapathikaram’ will be staged on November 21, 6.30 p.m., at Narada Gana Sabha.

The write up in The Hindu notes that Parvathi Ravi Ghantasala, Priya Murle, Uma Muralikrishna, Kavitha Ramu, Shiva Kumar, Binesh Mahadevan and Padmalakshmi Suresh as well as daughters of dancers including Manasvini (Revathy Ramachandran), Sumithra (Jayanthi Subramaniam), Pavithra Madhuram (Mutharasi) and Kavyalakshmi (Muralidharan daughter) will participate along with senior students of Anitha Guha, Revathy Ramachandran, Parvathi Ravi Ghantasala and Divyasena. 

 For details, contact Muralidaran at 99627 77833 or Chithra Muralidaran at 98405 89429 or 26186110.

Read more

Filed under: Anitha Guha, Arts, Bharathanatyam, Chennai, Dance, Dance Gurus, Kavita ramu, Madras, Male Bharathanatyam dancer, Muralidharan, Narada Gana sabha, Nrithyakshetra, artists, choreograhers, choreography, dance drama, students , Binesh Mahadevan, Divyasena., Jayanthi Subramaniam, Kavitha Ramu, Kavyalakshmi, Manasvini Ramachandran), Padmalakshmi Suresh, Parvathi Ravi Ghantasala, Pavithra Madhuram, Priya Murle, Revathy Ramachandran, Shiva Kumar, Sumithra, Uma Muralikrishna

Admission deadline for distance BFA/MFA in Bharathanatyam from Sastra University

To see flyer- click AdforBharathanatiyam

Shanmugha college of Engineering established in 1984 and renamed as SASTRA has become a university in April 2001.SASTRA offers various courses in Engineering, Sciences, Management and Arts besides Doctoral programs. SASTRA has been reaccredited by NAAC with a maximum grade A. Description of the course. BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in dance is offer under Distance mode. Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam is the Program Director. 

Contact details of Admission coordinator at the institute.

Address- The Director,Directorate of Distance Education,SASTRA University,Thirumalaisamudram- 613401 Tamil Nadu

Phone No. – 04362-264101, 04362-304000/010

WebSite :http://www.sastra.edu/default.aspx

The Last Date for Submission of Form 28 November 2009

You can download the prospectus and application form  here

Thanks to Mr. Madhana Raghavan for bringing this to our notice!

Filed under: Arts, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Chennai, Dance, Dance Gurus, India, Institutes, Madras, Padma Subrahmanyam, Performing Arts, Thanjavur, academics, learning, students , BFA, MFA, Sastra University

Watch this space!!!

Do you see determination and passion here? Come back to check out about these kids who are looking for your support!

On Oct 30 these kids are giving a short performance for  the NSS Intercollegiate Meet, at MGR Janaki College for Women.
 
The program will also  be presented on 6th Nov for their school’s sports day – MGR school for the hearing impaired.

Filed under: Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Chennai, Madras, academics, learning, students, talent

What’s apt in Bharathanatyam ?

Soumya Tilak identified some interesting articles from Narthaki. Reading them is sure to make one think about a lot of associated issues.

This post deals with the article titled “Dance writing “ by Lalitha Venkat, Chennai.  Narthaki.com conducted a week long dance writing workshop in July 2009. While speaking at this workshop conducted at the dance department of the MGR Janaki College, Leela Venkatraman who has now been  into dance writing for around 4 decades discusses a few  points that are aimed at helping upcoming dance writers find a right voice. The article can be found at http://www.narthaki.com/info/articles/art254.html

Leela also discusses about reviewing art that potrays / is inspired from one’s personal tragedy/experience. She talks of a creation by Canada based Bharathanatyam dancer and choreographer Lata Pada, who lost her husband and two daughters to the 1985 terrorist bombing of Air India flight Kanishka.

“Revealed by fire” according to Samparadaya’s website, (Lata’s dance company) is described as follows “A contemporary multimedia dance work featuring the story of a woman’s journey of tragedy and transformation, Revealed by Fire charts Lata Pada’s rediscovery of individual power and voice following the loss of her husband and two daughters to a terrorist bombing.  Ms. Pada and renowned visual designer Cylla von Tiedemann forge new frontiers for dance and moving images. It’s regarded by leading critic Michael Crabb as “the most important Canadian dance production of 2001”.

 “Dancer Lata Pada’s guru objected to her ‘Revealed by Fire’ being a personal trauma put on stage. Watching shows evolved out of personal experiences, some comment that it amounts to self indulgence and they did not come to see a highlighting of someone’s personal tragedy. While some identify many elements from a work as reflected in their own lives, others feel the artiste is trying to project herself as a tragedy queen. If a dancer brings in elements like Sita and tries to find a parallel, it would give the implication of trying to find legitimacy for the work.” Leela Venkatraman recalls.

Here is an excerpt of the production from the You Tube

Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/seraphaj

There are also other themes which elicit strong emotions in the viewers.

For eg. Here is a Video excerpt of a production titled “Play ball” by London based Nina Rajarani’s Srishti Dance Company.

It is in fact quite common for art from other cultures to be shaped by the artist’s experience, environment and emotions. Is Bharathanatyam accepted to be a vehicle of self expression by all quarters? Bharathanatyam has moved out of its portals, so isnt it inevitable that it will mutate ? The issue is not only about the physical aspects of choreography abiding to what is technically admissible within a Bharathanatyam format; it is also about those themes that are considered as befitting the art form. While the “purists” are worried about maintain the integrity of the art form, a few practitioners and connoisseurs are worried about maintaining or expanding the audience base. But more importantly there is also a section of the audience out there that is happy when the line between Bharathanatyam and Bollywood becomes thin enough to let them relate to what is being presented. 

Bharathanatyam today encompasses a wide variety of presentations. So, it suggests there does exist, a market for all kinds of Bharathanatyam. It is upto us to pick and choose what we are looking for, and we will learn to fit our wants with practice. There’s no point cribbing about the show we attended over the weekend. There are others who liked the same. So give the artiste a miss the next time, try somewhere else!

Filed under: Arts, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Canada, Chennai, Institutes, Rasika, UK, artists, choreograhers, choreography, experiences, review

Music and Dance Season 2009-2010

I will consolidate all posts on the Madras dance and Music Season 2009-2010. For those of you who would like to know what it is like , “The Hindu” had brought out a curtain raiser on the upcoming “Chennai Music and Dance Season 2008″ (PDF version)
This includes an interview with Alarmel Valli. You can download the same at http://www.hindu.com/ms/index.htm

Madras/Chennai Concerts*

*-Please verify program schedules  with newspapers/sabha  as they may be subject to changes

Krishna Gana Sabha’s Natya kala Conference: that is an annual event during the season will be held at the sabha between December 26 and 31, 2009 .This years conference is convened by Ananda Shankar Jayant . The theme is “Dance Matters”. 
 contact e-mail: anandasj@rediffmail.com

• Online Schedules/guides

The dance concerts we get to know will be added to our calendar which can be viewed in the middle column of the front page of this blog.

Saigan’s Consolidated and updatedMargazhi Season Guide can be found here

Visit http://artindia.net/madras09/index.html for a listing of  this season’s music and dance performances( Maintained by Sri. G.S. Rajan)

Mr. Ramkumar’s blog  regularly provides madras Kutcheri  updates (including  the season concerts)

•  Updated Sabha/organization Websites

Madras Music Academy- http://www.musicacademymadras.in/home.php (schedules updated for this year)

Bharat Kalachar- http://www.bharatkalachar.com/twentythirdmahotsav.html (schedules updated for this year)

Vani Mahal-http://www.vanimahal.com/isai_iyal_vizha.php (schedules updated for this year)

Tickets Reservation for NRI:
Kartik Fine Arts: NRIs who want to attend the December season concerts can e-mail the sabha Secretary and reserve tickets. Reservation queries must be sent in October. Such people will get preference in issue of tickets. (subject to availability)

KARTIK FINE ARTS[Regd]Registered office address:
New No.16, old no.39,
Bheemana Garden St,
Abhiramapuram,
Chennai- 600018,
Ph:91-44- 24997788.

Administration Office address:
2,Sringeri Mutt Road,
Chennai,
Ph:91-44- 2495 2695.
E.Mail :kartikfinearts@vsnl.net  http://www.kartikfineartschennai18.com/

Swathi Sangeethotsavam is an annual classical music festival celebrated in honour of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma (1813 – 1846) the  poet king of the Travancore dynasty. This seven day festival is held annually from January 6 to 12 at the ‘Kuthira Malika’ palace at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India where the king himself composed many of his musical gems.This could be a fantastic add- on to your season pilgrimage.Prince Rama Varma who organizes this music festival extends a warm welcome to all music lovers. These amazing concerts are entirely free . The schedule of Jan 2010 festival is as follows:-

Jan 6  Sanjay Subrahmanyan
Jan 7  Balasai (Flute)
Jan 8 Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna
Jan 9 Varma
Jan 10 Mavelikara P.Subramaniam
Jan 11 Pandit Venkateshkumar (Hindusthani)
Jan12 Seetha Rajan

For more details on this festival visit http://www.aparnaonline.com/princerama.html

Sharing your Schedules

Please feel free to share your performance schedules, reviews and other related info here. Leave it as a comment and I will work on getting it published. Events will be added to our  Event calendar .

Source of Info: Personal emails, Music and Dance Websites, Brochures, Mgazines etc.

Filed under: Arts, Bharat Kalachar, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Carnatic Music, Chennai, Dance, Dance Gurus, December season., Dhananjayan, India, Kalakshetra, Kartik Fine Arts, Kerala, Madras, Madras Music Academy, Madras Music Season, Madras dance Festival, Male Bharathanatyam dancer, Performing Arts, Prince Rama Varma, Rasika, Sheejith Krishna, Shobana, Sri Krishna Gana sabha, Urmila Satyanarayanan, Vijayanthimala Bali, artists, choreograhers, choreography, dance drama, dance festival, experiences, learning, program , Ananda Shankar Jayant, December, Kuthiramalika 2010, Natya kala Conference, Pooja Kumar, Season, Swathi Sangeethotsavam, Vani Mahal

Smt. Chitra Visweswaran – about her mother in Narthaki …

Smt. Chitra Visweswaran talks about her mother Mrs. Rukmani Padmanabhan,” her sternest critic, her inspiration, her guide and her dearest friend”. Mrs. Rukmani was also her first Guru for it was she who initiated her into dance.

Read More Here

Filed under: Chitra Visweswaran, Dance, Dance Gurus, artists, learning

Tête-à-tête with Navia Natarajan

Here is the unabridged text of Soumya Tilak’s interview with Navia Natarajan Menon . An edited version of the interview was published at Carnatic Darbar

In this day and age, when a lot of students of dance are lost to the IT industry or some other demanding careers, there are a handful of them who realize what they’re truly meant to pursue, and take the brave step toward it.

Navia Natarajan is one such student, who realized her real calling, literally while performing laboratory experiments as a research assistant. In her own words, “I would sit in front of an experiment and start to think of an item.” This isn’t surprising coming from someone who was attracted to the divine art form of Bharatnatyam at the age of 3 and was on stage at 4, although her formal training began while she was 7, under the tutelage of Smt. Radhika Kalyani, in Chennai. In just 3 years, she was on the dais, performing her maiden solo dance performance – “Arangetram”. The year after that, she was awarded the CCRT (Center for Cultural Resources and Training) scholarship in recognition of her talent. Later on, she trained under Smt. Padmini Ramachandran, in Bangalore, while pursuing her Master’s degree in Microbiology at the same time.

After her move to the United States, her bond with Bharatnatyam only grew stronger. She started the Navia Dance Academy to instill this pristine art form into other young students and bring out the wonderful dancers within them. She has given numerous performances in India, United States, United Kingdom, as well as the Middle East. She visits India every year to continue her advance training under Guru A. Lakshmanan and Bragha G. Bessell, as well as give performances.

The Department of Culture, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India awarded her a scholarship in the field of Bharatnatyam in 1998. Following that, she won the top prize in Bharatnatyam at the Yuva Sangeet Nritya Mahotsava conducted by South Central Zone Cultural Center in Belgaum, Karnataka. In recognition of her talent and efforts to elevate the cultural standard, she was awarded the Kalakusuma Award by the Aryabhata Cultural Organization, Bangalore, in 2000. In 2002, she won the competition held by Tamil Nadu Eyal Esai Nadagamandram, Government of Tamil Nadu, which gave her the opportunity to perform at several prestigious dance festivals in Tamil Nadu. She was upgraded to a top-grade auditioned artist in the “A+” category at Prasar Bharathi, Doordarshan, New Delhi in 2004. She is an empaneled artist of ICCR (India Council for Cultural Relations), New Delhi, since 2007.

Read along to know what Navia has to say in our tête-à-tête.

BN and WWW: When, where and how did your dance lessons begin?

Navia Natarajan: I was formally initiated into dancing at the age of 7 under the guidance of Smt Radhika Kalyani in Chennai. But it was at the age of 3 in Cochin, when I apparently saw our family friends taking dance lessons. I believe I was so mesmerized by the sheer beauty of it, that I asked my mother if I could also take classes. This is what my mother told me. That’s how I embarked on this journey. I was 4 when I first took to the stage for a folk number. We then moved to Chennai when I was four.

BN: Nowadays the dance field is losing a lot of students to the IT Industry or some other demanding career. You hold a Masters degree in Microbiology and have also worked as a Research Associate for a Scientific Research Foundation in Bangalore. How did dance fit into your schedule amidst all that? What would you tell students of dance who want to pursue or are pursuing a professional degree as well?

NN: Frankly speaking I have never analyzed all that. The reason being ever since I was a school going student, I was also a student of dance. Dance classes and classes at school went parallel to each other. This was possible only because my parents backed me and supported me thro and thro. There was no room for excuses for not having fared well in studies or dance. All of it was meant to be a part and parcel of my life. I doubt if during my early school days I was even aware of the intrinsic meaning of the word “dedication” or for that matter “passion”. I probably went about it like a normal chore. After I performed my arengetram in Chennai. My father got transferred to Hosur.

Hosur is approximately an hour away from Bangalore. He and my mother used to drive me to Bangalore every weekend for my dance classes with Guru Smt Padmini Ramachandran. We then moved to Bangalore.

During my high school days, ones the day ends I would rush to the dance class looking forward to doing the adavus or learning an item. While in college I would do the same except that at times I would be exhausted after all the experiments that had to be conducted. Even while at work the routine was the same, but the approach started to change. I was beginning to feel a tug at my heart. An emotional bonding that was surfacing towards my conscious level.

But even then, I used to only treat it as a hobby. It was during my days as a research assistant that I felt a deep urge to take dancing seriously. I would sit in front of an experiment and start to think of an item. That was an eye opener. That is when I decide to take dancing seriously.

So all that I would like to tell students of dance who want to pursue a professional degree is that, try to handle both and do justice to both. Never confine yourself, never limit yourself with self-inflicted “it is tough” thoughts.

I was able to juggle all this solely because of the constant encouragement and support of my father Mr. M. Natarajan and my mother Varada. They served and still serve as an impetus to fuel my passion and goals. After marriage, I also have my husband Rupesh who is a pillar of support, though he [is] still in the process of understanding the significance of dance in my life.

It may seem absolutely impossible, but it has possibilities as Nelson Mandela rightly put it “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” There will be a point when, they will be able to decide with conviction if they want to take up dance as their career or some other field.

BN: You have worked with dancers from different styles. Your initial training was in Vazhuvoor Bhani, you have collaborated with Madurai Sri. R. Muralidharan, you have worked with Malathi Iyengar and you continue advanced training with A Lakshmanan, who runs the Nrithyalakshana School in Chennai and Bragha G Bessell. Tell us about your working experiences.

NN: It is interesting, when one collaborates with artist of exceptional caliber. One gets to understand another artists working method, how their experiences mould their expression and vision, the kind of hard work they put in to produce and launch their productions. It has been a very enriching experience and I feel deeply honored to have worked them.

My advance training with Lakshman sir and Bragha akka has been extremely gratifying. While with Lakshman sir I am learning how to understand the body, the precision of body lines, how an amalgamation of grace and energy can enhance a performance, with bragha akka I am learning ways of interpreting a line, a passage, the kind of episodes that can be used to articulate, how even a slightest movement of the hand or a small twitch of a facial muscle can change the color and context of the item.

I derive a lot of inspiration from them, their attention to details and above all their total commitment and dedication to the art forms.

BN: Was it difficult for you to move to US as a dancer?

NN: Interestingly, it was actually after reaching this land that my personality underwent a progressive change. My dormant senses were aroused. Things that would have never crossed my mind earlier where all making their presence felt.

As initially I was unable to work here, I would spend a lot of hours contemplating. In India my life was fraught with activities I never had the time nor the inclination to spend some quality moments with myself. It was here that I actually became sensitive to my own personality, my needs and interests. So I would say that, it is this land, which, has actually been instrumental in the process of metamorphoses.

But having said that I do go to India every year to learn and to perform. I do miss India, its vibrant, energetic life. I often look forward to going to India, absorbing and basking in its rich cultural tapestry. Rushing for programmes amidst rehearsals, trying to understand another artists approach to art, themes, and interpretation without any bias. I savor the whole process of rejuvenating ones senses in India.

BN: You currently teach in US. Do you find a need for a different teaching strategy or adaptation of the teaching methods used to train students in Bharathnatyam students in India, while teaching at US? How about the difference in teaching Indian students vs. NRI students in US vs. Foreign National students, especially because the latter are not that aware of our traditions?

NN: To be candid, I began teaching only couple of years back. I was in Denver initially and with in a couple of years I moved to California. So basically I have been dealing with students who have just been initiated into Bharathanatyam. They all are still learning the steps /adavus. So right now I am not employing any strategy. But yes I have heard other teachers expressing difficulty while trying to teach them interpretive dancing. I am yet to face it. Will cross the bridge when it comes.

BN: You have performed both in India and abroad. Generally, the conception is that in India, the audience is a bit more familiar or informed or knowledgeable about Bharathnatyam, than in other parts of the world i.e. a foreign audience. Do you think it is so? If yes, can you share with us how you experienced that difference?

NN: Yes, performing in other parts of the world is quite different. That is because our Indian classical dance forms are steeped in philosophy and mythology. We as Indians are able to relate to it, as all this has been a part of our growing up in India. It is a way of life for us. We take pride in being a part of its rich heritage.

While performing nayika oriented piece say a varnam, in India we can go ahead and perform it without a lot of hassles as to whether the audience understand it or not. But in other countries, I have experienced that one needs to explain the emotional plight that the woman is in, what thoughts or desires she is journeying thro, and how the plethora of gods such as Shiva, Rama or Krishna are just protagonists in the piece. Emotions be it love, hate, anger, humor are all universal, so when an artist presents these pieces to a foreign audience we just need to package them in away that they will be able to relate. For example I recently did a piece “indendhu vachitivira”, where in a kandhitha nayika rebuffs Lord Venkatesha for being unfaithful to her. Here the audience did not know about the lord but were able to see the turmoil in the nayika.

If we take our mythological stories, there are Protagonist who are not ideal characters to emulate, some characters have shades of grey in them, some are perfect to revere and theses shades of characters can be found in all and sundry irrespective of the age/ era their hail from.

Foreign audiences do appreciate neat lines, the geometry in the execution of our steps and our grand eloquent movements. So I personally believe our art forms have various layers of meanings and contents. It is how we use those layers skillfully to present it to foreign audience. Presenting our items to them also help us to sit back and reflect on our work.

Well with the limited exposure that I have had, this is what I have felt and perceived, but then again probably I would be able understand it more as and when the journey unfolds.

Therefore a lot of dilemmas and perplexities [exist] but then I guess that is the whole beauty of being an artist, coastally evolving.

To learn more about this promising dancer and her upcoming performances, visit www.navianatarajan.com

Filed under: A.Lakshman, Arts, Bangalore, Bharatanatyam, Bharathanatyam, Bragha Bassel, Dance, Performing Arts, artists, talent , interviews