musicians

Posted by dancer (195.92.67.72) on March 10, 2006 at 10:33:21:

In Reply to: greedy dance teachers posted by preethi on March 09, 2006 at 22:34:36:

This is true. Why the disatisfaction of so many dancers? Musicians will not play unless they are paid a 'fee'. We know that this fee is not a small amount. They are there only for a few rehearsals for the dancer to do the 'job' for them and then go home. Why can't they have an attitude that they are also performing their music and enjoying it as well. Most today's musicians cannot identify with bharatanatyam. I see many don't even bother to check mikes before they play - they feel it's not THEIR performance, it's the dancer's! They don't care if their own music comes out with squeeks over the unchecked sound system. Ever since musicians have been pushed to the side of the stage and the dancer focused as the central main role in a performance, there is always the feeling that musicians are there to help the dancer dance, to 'provide' the music, that the dancer has to DEPEND on them. Unfortunately, people should change this attitude.

Give importance to dance music and increase the importance/presence of dance musicians during a performance. Raise the status of dance music as a respectable genre of music. More people will start learning to sing for dance because they will eventually see dance music as an art itself. That way they will want to sing or play along with the dancer for the musicians artistic enjoyment also, WITHOUT THE NEED TO BE PAID. There are far too many dancers and far too few dance singers. Something should be done to stop the monopoly.

In the past, bharatanatyam was always a group ensemble. Musicians who sang/played were familiar with the dance. There was ample opportunity for the dancer AND THE MUSICIANS to improvise. Members of the ensemble should all have a common goal to beautify a song for their artistic enjoyment. Today people practise with their tapes and then when there is a performance, they use musicians for a few days. After the performance, it's back to their tapes again. Where is the continuity or flow, between the use of their tapes and the use of live music? Why should live music be used afterall?

The dancer may have a new piece where the musicians are not familiar. The dancer should make sure the musicans are really interested in singing or playing this piece and can identify with it. Otherwise, musicains will just 'do the job' - count rehearsals, play, get their money, go home. The purpose of musicians gone and serve nothing than a display of luxury. There is no purpose of using them live unless they have the zeal to play, better to use recorded music for such dance pieces.