A: Art
From a mere traditional dance form of even a few decades ago, Bharatanatyam today
has become an art form. The dance is a means of communication to the artists. They
can use it to express amazing ideas and concepts.
B: Back-breaking
Like all dance, Bharatanatyam too remains a back-breaking physical art form. It
is a harsh mistress requiring daily practice - both riyaaz and sadhana.
C: Choreography
This is linked to the dance becoming an art form; its envisioning has changed. And
this is what choreography really is - a new way of looking.
D: Dramatic
With its grammar originating in a treatise of dramaturgy (Bharata's Natya Shastra)
Bharatanatyam is pure theatre. It harnesses the excitement of a live experience
between an artist and her audience in an electrifying moment of interaction.
E: Expression
Expression or abhinaya remains the bridge for the artist to communicate ideas and
concepts to the audience. This expression can be facial (mukhabhinaya), expression
of the entire body (angika-abhinaya) or indeed expression of the soul (satvika abhinaya).
F: Funding
Despite fifty years of independence, the structures of funding Bharatanatyam are
faulty. Funding structures traditionally favour Bharatanatyam craft schools; the
artists get little or no support for their work. What is encouraged is mindless
teaching outfits where the movements are taught as craft traditions.
G: Gurus
The best gurus are rapidly vanishing. The links with the past are slowly being erased.
Those who remain must be cherished, celebrated and documented.
H: Hasta
The hand gestures are the basic language for dancers. It is a classified code of
symbols that enable them to communicate ideas, concepts and themes. The stylised
language of the hand gestures is a beautiful aspect of Bharatanatyam.
I: Impressarios
Sorely needed to professionalise the dance are the breed of impressarios who can
manage artists, read and write contracts and enable the dancers to do just that
- dance. As of now dancers moonshine as their own impressarios.
J: Joy
Ultimately dance is defined purely by the joy it yields both to the dancer and to
the rasikas. This joy is unexplainable. It is the highest form of worship, a feeling
beyond reality.
K: Karma
Dance is linked to destiny. Only those with a higher destiny become classical dancers.
These dancers are the rishis of the modern age. Elsewhere I have said that dancers
in many ways are the rishis of our times. They are repositories of culture. They
value traditional knowledge. They seek deeply and then present a dynamic vision
of all that to audiences. Like the rishis of yore, dancers are endowed with special
powers to create. They can innovate and express. They are empowered creatures. Which
other profession in contemporary times can claim such features?
L: Legal Rights
As dancers encounter the real world, they have to educate themselves of their legal
rights of copyright laws and how they can prevent themselves from being exploited.
M: Music
Bharatanatyam - like all pristine dances - is inextricably linked to music. Music
and Dance cannot be separated, they mingle like scent and the breeze. And all dancers
need to be aware of music and its structure and its moods to be able to mould the
dance to the music. Movement must resonate the musical cadence to create powerful
and beautiful dance.
N: New
This is the bete noire of dancers today. They are constantly under pressure to create
"new" things. Organizers very often tell us that only the "new" can attract the
audience. This needs to be resisted. New for newness sake is only a mirage. The
true new has to emerge from convictions and the very soul.
O: Old
If the new needs to be embraced with caution the old too needs to be constantly
evaluated. Everything old is not necessarily good. Many of the ideas and sentiments
expressed in traditional Bharatnatyam of yore reflected a different gender dimension
- the status of women was not an issue then. Today, those old concepts need to be
pondered upon, mulled over, and eschewed if need be.
P: Proscenium
The dance is now firmly ensconsced on the modern stage. The advantages of such proscenium
spaces are additional inputs to the dance. The proscenium's lights and sound and
other facilities bring to the dance added dimensions.
Q: Questioning
Today, dancers are questioning artists. They accept nothing as everlasting or perennial
(shaswath). Everything is open to discussion. This is a healthy trend.
R: Rhythm
Since Shiva danced to the beat of the damaru, dance has always been an extension
of rhythm. Bharatanatyam celebrates cyclical rhythms, and then celebrates micro-rhythms
and contra-rhythms. All rhythm in Bharatanatyam is mathematical, geometric and pricise.
Yet it is joyous and creates moments of intense joy. Rhythm, in many ways, is the
reason for the dance.
S: Sponsors
The spurt of private sponsors for Bharatanatyam in the mid-seventies and early eighties
has tapered off. Now sponsors are looking for mega-events. Bharatanatyam, misunderstood
as a heritage dance often loses out on sponsors today.
T: Trauma
There is more than a fair bit of trauma that goes with being an artist in any society
- a Bharatanatyam artist in a rapidly commercialising culture like ours is probably
somewhat more traumatised. This is because the arts - especially the classical arts
- are constantly being evaluated and questioned for their relevance. That is the
most painful of all the trauma. Also, being female achievers brings its own onslaughts
in conservative cultures like ours.
U: Unique
Undoubtedly Bharatanatyam is a unique dance form anywhere in the world. With its
lush grammar and its ability to vehicle ideas and also slice across time, space
and history, this dance form allows for unbridled creativity within its grammatical
format and geometric relation to space.
V: Values
The Bharatanatyam dancer ultimately will be defined by the values she projects.
What kind of human being is she and whant is the kind of art that she particpates
in? The individual's sanskara becomes a touchstone for judging the artist.
W: Writing
As dancers get empowered, they will have to write about their concepts and their
theorems and share them with wider and wider audiences. Writing on dance by critics
and scholars will have to become more focussed on the dance process.
X: X-asperating
There are many exasperating aspects to the dance. Establishing a working relationship
with musicians for example can be quite a task. Also, there are many organizers
who wish to arrange Bharatanatyam during dinner or even cocktails. Dealing with
such individuals is always very exasperating.
Y: Youth
This is the saddest aspect of Bharatanatyam. When you are young and fresh, the dance
is not at its peak; when you are much older, the dance is completely yours to mould,
but alas, the body does not yield as easily.
Z: Zenith
This is an arbitrary goal; every artist has different objectives and struggles to
attain it. While manodharma (inner search) contributes immensely to the surge to
this zenith, luck and other propitious circumstances also contribute their mite
in this journey.
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