Another view

Posted by Sangeetha on November 22, 2007 at 20:52:45:

In Reply to: Re: dance arangetrrams posted by Megha on November 22, 2007 at 12:37:11:

Charging a fee or not is personal.
I suppose a child who is doing her arangetram should have done some serious learning for at least a couple of years. By then, the following would be most likely about the student and her/his family :-
1. They trust the Guru. Otherwise they might have just hopped ...
2. Have a basic knowledge about the art form.(atleast the student should). If not why bother?

If that is the case, and if the Guru is well established, unaccessible (I am sure it helps Gurus to stay that way) and reasonably renowned, and talented, they may not negotiate with the Guru about every item picked.
But it is not wrong for the Guru to discuss/consult about the items to be performed. A thematic presentation ( navarasa- might need more work from the student too!), chosing their mother tongue/religious preference based compositions, or shortening the pieces, esp the Varnam to reasonable lengths is Ok. If the original choreography had two jathis between the sahityams, better to clip it to one, esp if the crowd is uninformed and the students's stamina and nritta doesn't permit. It saves the audience, if any were paying attention and had a background; from having to go through the turmoil of having to succumb to the pain for long.

But sometimes, I always ask myself why do such students go in for an arangetram ? Have you guys watched a few of the You Tube arangetram posts? Outrageous. But they are such stress killers. Please watch them!

When did arangetram become all about costume changes, invitation, compeering, foyer arrangement, and dinner? Is the "graduation performance" so popular because of the social recognition that it gives the family.

I have heard arangetrams as being described as "so many dollar/rupee arangetrams".I am not against individual spending efforts.Seeing it positively, it provides so many people with an oppurtuninty.

But still some kind of quality appraisal like credit rating could help. Just joking!!

Ms. Sudha Raghuram sorry for leaving such an off track message. But I just couldn't overlook this part too!