What
is the role of dance in society in general?
Dance is designed
to ennoble people. They entertain while educating the people.
In India, dance is considered an integral part of daily life. It
nourishes people with spirituality and provides social commentary.
If a message is depicted directly it will be boring. But if they
are enveloped in beautiful movements, attractive costumes and interesting
stories, the message will be well received by the audience. I would
say the role of dance has been very crucial in India. There were
devadasis, temple dancers, court dancers, dancers for various social occasions,
etc. Today’s dancer combines all these roles. The dancer’s
role is merely to point out things. The dancer points out an issue,
a problem or explain a metaphor for people to act upon. Since it
is an art form, the process is very subtle.
Can one
modernise classical dance forms?
Tradition
always changes - sometime minimally, sometimes noticeably. Traditional
Indian classical dance has changed. We are not performing dance as
it was done a hundred years ago. But the core, which is the collective
memory, does not change. The symbolism and metaphor are the same
at all times and in all cultures. For example, the characteristics
of Krishna and the significance of the flute are universal and timeless.
What the dancer interprets becomes modern. For example, in the epics,
Krishna dances over the serpent which was poisoning river Yamuna.
Krishna conquered it and ordered it to move to the ocean. That is
a metaphor. When I dance the number I imagine the pollution in Ganges.
So a dancer makes a traditional item modern through her imagination and
interpretation.
Classical
Indian dance forms remain primarily devotional.
The devotion
depicted in Indian classical dance is not about any particular god.
It is devotion to what you believe in. Whatever we do, if we do it
with our heart and soul that becomes devotion. It is the spirituality
and not the ritual that is important. In every one’s life there are
phases and with maturity one does becomes spiritual.
How do you
relate to the audience while you perform?
Through my
dance I am sharing something with the audience. But there are some
people who shut themselves up. They are watching me dance but they
are not seeing anything beyond the surface. ‘Rasanubava’ is the experience
of aesthetic delight. For this to happen, the onlooker should be
empathetic and open hearted. It is a great bliss for the dancer when
she could sense the collective ‘rasanubahav’ in the audience. It
resonates with her spirituality. Of course, the dancer has to reach
a certain level of experience before this happens. She must be selflessness
and humble. It will not happen if the dancer is arrogant with too
much emphasis on her virtuosity, talent or beauty.
What is
the hallmark of Odissi?
Odissi has
a sculptural quality. Its undulating grace is unique. This
comes from a very strict discipline of torso movement. There are
a lot of square postures. Strong postures are juxtaposed with graceful
movements. In general, it is very sober compared to other dance forms.
It does not want to impress with its grandiose movements. It is very
rich and poetic.
How are
the young Odissi dancers shaping up?
A lot of young
girls are learning Odissi and a few are performing on stage. But
there are only a few serious dancers. In my time, we used to go to
the Guru. Now the guru’s are running from Chennai to Mumbai, Europe
or US to coach their students. The students are not devoting full
time to their dance. They are juggling many balls in the air and
dance happens to be one of them. In my case I just jumped into dance
at the age of fifteen without any expectations of money, fame or trips
abroad. I went through a lot of sacrifice and hard work in the process
of becoming a dancer. People should realise that to be a dancer is
a commitment for a lifetime.
How do you
feel performing Odissi in Chennai, the fortress of Bharatnatyam?
In 1968 I
gave my first Odissi performance in Chennai at Museum theater. Doyens
such as Rukmani Devi, Subbulaksmi, Sadasivam, guru Dhandayudapani Pillai,
guru Ramaiah Pillai were in the front row. In her speech Rukmani
confessed that she had thought Odissi was some kind of tribal dance, and
that Sonal had proved Odissi is as much a classical form as Bharatnatyam.
Since then I have been dancing Odissi in Chennai almost every year.
I have a lot of friends and fans here. (smiles)
Is classical
dance losing its audience?
Unfortunately,
yes. The main reason is that life has changed over the years.
For example in Chennai nowadays you see less women wearing Kancheepuram
saris and less men wearing dothis. I don’t see kolam in front of
many houses. When I was younger there was no TV, no fast-food, no
computer and no Internet. People had the time to come and enjoy a
dance performance. Now people have more choices. In their drawing
room they can switch on the TV and have all types of programs. The
computer and Internet are other diversions. If in-spite of these,
dance in India is surviving, it is because we offer something imperishable
in comparison to the plastic entertainment.
What can
we do to bring more people to come for the performances ?
Journalists
like you can and should spread the awareness among people. (Though she
started laughing, it was clear that Sonal was genuinely pleading journalists
to pitch in for a noble cause)
Apart from
performances how else can a dancer reach people?
There is so
much of film dance on television but hardly any classical dance.
Since 1978 I have been doing a lot of performances in schools and colleges
through out India. I organize lecture demonstrations and workshops
for students. In India, classical music has a better reach because
people can buy audio tapes and CDs. Unfortunately there are no dance-videos
and CDs. I wish that some one invests money and produce quality
dance videos and then market them. If it can be done for classical
music, why not for classical dance? Indian dancers are handicapped
since we don’t have impresarios and business managers. All arrangements
for performances are done by husband or father who do not have the professional
expertise. So the dancers lack basic skills to prepare proper contracts
and negotiate with producers.
What is
your dream project?
My wish is
to make every one dance. I am not telling this in a superficial manner.
Dance is so primary to human being. Every one should learn a little
bit of dance in whatever form – folk, social or classical. In Germany,
ballet is compulsory for boys and girls up to standard eight. Dance
implies a balance of body, understanding of space, power of the body, its
grace, music, rhythm. Through dance the mind gets attuned to a rhythm.
It is only natural that something so vital should be part of our basic
education.
| Sam Kumar is a Chennai based writer and photographer who loves all
forms of classical art. Painting and traveling are his other passions.. |
|
(January 18,
2003)
|
