Posted by Vinod (65.8.100.121) on June 10, 2005 at 20:02:59:

 I read with great interest the honest and well-written article by Ranjana Dave. Extremely thought-provoking for me, since i've been born and bred in the US. My parents are not connected to dance and music, and being a male child learning dance was not widely accepted within my family and/or their social circuit. My parents did eventually come around, and I have been learning both Kuchipudi and Bharata Natyam for the past 12 years (performed my debut in '98). My parents later encouraged me to take up nattuvangam and carnatic music as well.
One thing I have learned being an Indian-American male learning dance is that it is not always accepted by some NRIs and their children in the US. They figure once you perform your Arangetram, learning and performing should cease. (I was stunned when I recently heard a young girl performed her debut to get into a top US University- or so her parents thought it would help... I've later found out this mentality is commonplace.) Dave's article hit home even more since my cousins settled in India rarely care to listen to a good music concert or watch a good classical dance program.
I think all of the suggestions Dave proposes are good ones-- education helps bring greater awareness. But many children/young adults may moan and groan at being forced to study dance appreciation in school. This is a problem which may lack a positive solution. Forced art may not lead to appreciated art in my view.
Just a note: Actress/dancer Shobana toured the US with a fabulous production titled Sampradaya in '03. Her production was classical to the core in terms of choreography, but had modern music mixed in with traditional classical ragas/tunes. This was appreciated by other Indian-American dancers-- it was a perfect blend of the East meeting the West. So this worked to gain interest and attention in the younger lot. Another possible solution? And if that's the case, what future then for "un-modernized" traditional classical Indian art forms being appreciated among the younger lot the world over?