July 1, 2013
Still
floating on the memories and experience of a wonderful musical
collaboration on the last day of June, I write this message on a high
note. Listening to Anil Srinivasan (piano), Jayanthi Kumaresh (veena)
and V Shekhar (cello) was a testament to superb art and creativity on a
happy collision course. As a dancer I was jealous. How easily the three
systems met, diverted and blended.... So much less troublesome than the
human body that binds and ties us down with cultural specificity,
density and gravity.
June was highlighted by my week long trip to Russia a country so
distant in my imagination with my mind screen jostling with images of
Dr. Zhivago, White Nights, sinister looking men, very large women,
vodka/caviar and the brilliant writings of Tolstoy, Chekov and
Dostoyevsky. The Indian artiste community, however, have a very
different story from the bleak and ominous country that most of us have
of Russia. Ask Guru Maya Rao, who admits that she has left a part of her
heart in Moscow several decades ago. The courtesy, admiration and
adoration for artistes in this nation are still very palpable. Ballet is
a revered art form and the many exquisite museums for dance and theatre
are shining examples of how a people who braved wars, starvation,
bombing and deprivation still refused to tear down their cultural
edifices and actually rebuilt them square inch by square inch when
Hitler's troops retreated in 1941. I walked in the vast expanse of the
Red Square and the Kremlin where Chandralekha showcased her famous
NAMASKAR production for the Festival of India in 1985. She opened with
"Pavamana Suthudu Battu," the traditional Mangalam or final song of a
Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam programme. The words of the song
contained "Rajiva Nayana Tyaga" O Lotus eyed One. And Rajiv Gandhi was
watching as Indian Prime Minister!
My days were spent marvelling at the sheer scale and magnificence of
their theatres the Bolshoi and the Kirov are so much more than
anything I had imagined or read about. The theatre at L'Hermitage,
the superb Amber Room were more visual treats, almost too much beauty
to absorb in one visit. Catching an impromptu performance of a
Russian quartet lookalikes of the Italian IL DIVO hunks while roaming in the gardens of
Queen Catherine's Winter Palace was a serendipitous treat. Watching
ballet classes and listening to many tour guides who patiently and
proudly led me to the museum-homes of prima ballerina Galina Ulanova and
poet Alexander Pushkin, marvelling at carefully preserved costumes,
original librettos of Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky, lithographs, letters
and rare photographs in more than five museums for the performing arts
showed me how a cash rich economy and a bling- loving consumer base can
still protect and preserve the treasures of their nation. Looking at the
worn ballet shoes of famous divas sharing space in a small display area
was a touching moment that reminded me of the tough and arduous world
of a dancer. Just look at our feet! They are not a pretty sight!
Today Russians are everywhere shopping the world and buying everything
with their new found wealth. But the government continues to pour
billions into the ballet, theatre, literature, music and all creative
ventures. While the idea of SOFT SKILLS is being touted as an Indian
USP, we in India do so little for our cultural ambassadors or our
precious heritage. I am told that our culture spending is less than 1%
of our total budget! Shame!
However, do not think that all young Russians know the names of Pavlova,
Nijinsky, Nureyev, Diaghilev or Plisetskaya. At a wine tasting of a
newly opened Moscow nightclub, many twenty-somethings stared at me when I
mentioned these names. And so did two business men from Taiwan who I
met at the hotel's breakfast room. When I told them how much I admired
Lin Hwai-min, Artistic Director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, they stared
blankly and said they had never heard of him! In fact, the guide at the
Ulanova Museum told me sadly that the present dancers of the Moscow
Bolshoi have not bothered to come to visit the home and neither have the
students whom Ulanova trained and mentored! So it is much the same
story in urban centres around the world. Despite the gruesomely
horrendous airport experience that made me remember the Soviet days
before 'Perestroika' and 'Glasnost,' in spite of bad international
press, crude oligarchs, brutal mafia dons and gorgeous models apart,
Russia is one country that has left a very deep impression on me. I look
forward to visiting again! If only to sail again on the night waters of
St Petersburgh's canals and experience the famously invigorating
Russian baths!
Before travelling to Russia, I was in the scenic city of Bhubaneswar for
SAMAKALA, the annual contemporary dance festival produced and presented
by the Odisha Tourism Department. I have to raise a hearty cheer to Mr.
A K Tripathy, the dynamic Secretary of Tourism and his able team for a
truly superb effort. From the moment I arrived at the airport until my
departure, I had a personal assistant who never left my side,
accompanied me for my purchases of saris and bedspreads (I am a
fashionista what can I say!) and acted as translator and media
relations manager. The uber wonderful Aruna Mohanty's curatorial vision
had included five dancers from India and Ramli Ibrahim from Malaysia
(although Ramli is an honorary Oriya bhai by now) to showcase solo and
ensemble presentations in a well attended and extremely well organised
festival. For the first time in more than a decade, my tech director,
Victor Paulraj, did not need to haggle with or harangue the local team
about working late, hanging and focusing lights. All that we requested
was made available and a sense of courtesy and genuine warmth was
palpable. My three part presentation of "About HER" was well received.
Although my opening piece based on Sita's refusal to accompany Hanuman
as an escape route back to Rama was neither understood nor grasped
through five repetitive and accumulated gestures, I enjoyed presenting
two excerpts from the Tagore production AVANI, which were appreciated
and applauded. The morning after, I visited some Odissi schools and was
struck at the high standard of dancing. This is surely the golden age of
Odissi dance and music with demand for teachers, performers and DVDs of
this style surpassing the popularity of Bharatanatyam and Kathak
worldwide! With almost 23 dance and music festivals produced throughout
the year, this one state is showing the rest of India and especially
my home state of Tamilnadu that if there is a dynamic individual at
the helm of a state institution who wishes to make a difference IT CAN
BE DONE. Bravo Tripathy-ji and your terrific team!
In Chennai, the Music Academy inaugurated the TAG Digital Archives for
Dance. This is a long cherished vision of the Academy Committee who have
yet to face the issues surrounding artiste copyrights and other points
that may emerge in the coming months. But good news it is for the dance
community who now have a chance to view some amazing historical footage
of great dancers who have stepped onto the mainstage of this important
cultural landmark.
My travels to varied countries and cities over the first half of 2013
have given me time to think about the crucial need for effective
documentation and archiving. Watching the superb condition of 18th and
19th century theatre, dance and music artefacts in Russia, we now know
that technology exists to maintain and preserve important objects and
memorabilia. In India the focus is so heavily weighted towards
performance alone that the value of teaching, process and methodology
gets lost in the hoopla and halogens. In one of the many museums I
visited, historical photographs and pamphlets were embedded in four rows
of tall room dividers! Sliding them out or swivelling them around in
any order served as a visual history mosaic as well as cutting off a
room from the main space. A marvellous idea!
Elsewhere around the world, Indian dance is making its way slowly,
surely and regularly into the mainstream media of the US and UK. Recent
successful performances by several Indian choreographers and western
directors working with Indian dance motifs for theatre have once again
revealed the long and historic relations between jazz dancing, modern
dance and the language of gestures. Scholar Uttara Coorlawalla has
several interesting insights into these pre-colonial connections between
the dance cultures of India and the West.
As the annual PURUSH conference/festival approaches, I have been
watching and speaking to many male dancers in the cities I visit and
live in. What continues to surface is the delicate and unspoken issues
of sexuality and identity. Mandeep Raikhy's premiere of his
contemporary work THE MALE ANT HAS STRAIGHT ANTENNAE had a mostly
positive reception in New Delhi but the subtexts of choice, gender and
social power structures came through clearly in the rehearsals I watched
although somewhat diffidently. Classical male dancers who are unable
to articulate sexuality issues then become awkwardly hyper-feminine on
stage with red lipstick and un-aesthetic costumes. What are the male
gurus transmitting in the name of tradition? How do the gurus themselves
see their dual roles as teachers/performers often competing for the
same performance opportunities as their protιgιs? Canadian
choreographer Hari Krishnan's new work "I-Cyclops" confidently
concludes with a surprising "gay kiss" on stage. New York Times dance
critic Alistair Macaulay described the moment as "both arresting and
absurd." Does cultural conditioning dictate choreography
choices? These are interesting questions that the conference hopes to
explore or at least raise.
I sign off and immediately begin another journey winging my way again
across the oceans. This time, my travels are a combination of
performances, lectures, conferences, family reunions and personal
downtime. It has been a particularly hectic time for me but the
invitations cannot be ignored as a dancer's life is both fragile and
brief. Maybe I will see some of you in transit as the annual mass exodus
begins from the West towards India for the various dance intensives.
I slip into my Fit Flops and wish you all the ease and warmth of summer holidays, sandy beaches and balmy days.
Stay well, stay positive and stay alive to the joy and power of the dance!
Dr. Anita R Ratnam
Chennai/ New York/ Laguna Beach/ London/ Florence/ Barcelona
Twitter: @aratnam
Facebook: Anita R Ratnam
Instagram: @anitaratnam
Blog: THE A LIST / anita-ratnam.blogspot.in
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