Posted by marie (4.18.229.10) on June 12, 2005 at 12:54:19:

 In Reply to: Response to Ranjana Dave's article

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

 Hello, can someone please post the article you are referring to?

East/West:

I am an American who studies two forms of Classical Indian dance (Bharata Natyam and Odissi) and I believe, speaking for myself and my friends, that educated "Westerners" much prefer things "traditional" than not. Bollywood-ish "semi-classical" numbers (done to movie songs and such) I have seen in the States are entertaining, but tend to compromise technique. Further, Americans don't understand those compositions very well because they see MTV culture infusing those dances, and that is distasteful to many. I think that Westerners enjoy the "classical" because so much of our modern culture is fast paced and transient. We long for rooted arts sustained with polished technique, devoid of references to the consumer culture that tends to permeate everything here. Classical numbers are a breath of fresh air for me.

Of course dancers, once they have mastered the traditional technique, should be free to experiment with other forms of music and expanding their dance vocabularies, but good technique and tasteful blending of dance styles should be a priority. There is too much cheapening here in the States that is passed off as "semi-classical."