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 Drawing parallels between Taylor Swift's Eras Tour and Bharatanatyam - Prakruthi Kolay e-mail: prakruthipls@gmail.com August 4, 2024 Classical dancers: Time to be Fearless! Classical dancers, it's time for a reality check! When was the last time you performed for 3 ½ hours in a dance festival? Today, normally at Bharatanatyam dance festivals, each dancer gets a maximum of 1 ½ hours. This time slot usually includes the Pushpanjali, varnam, padam (or javali), and thillana, followed by Mangalam. Sometimes, performances are even shorter, reduced to an hour or just 45 minutes to fit more dancers into an evening's lineup - a strategy driven by money hungry organisers. In contrast, consider Taylor Swift's performances. She gives a full-length concert equivalent to a Sampoorna Margam daily. She not only sings, plays the guitar and piano, but also changes costumes, interacts with hundreds of thousands of audiences, and writes her own songs. Classical dancers could benefit from adopting some of her rigorous routines to truly excel rather than settling for mediocrity. She's truly a MASTERMIND.  Taylor Swift in concert Taylor began her training six months before the Eras tour, running on a treadmill every day while singing. A dedicated Swiftie tried to emulate this regimen and discovered that Taylor covered half a marathon's distance, followed by strength training every day! How many classical dancers train this intensely? Have you seen any of this on Taylor's Instagram posts? If your training is truly rigorous, you wouldn't have time for "my rehearsal in progress" Instagram reels. It's time for change - ARE YOU READY FOR IT? Moreover, Taylor Swift, already a superstar, could easily coast on her past successes. Instead, she continually reinvents herself, as seen in her acoustic section mashups, which is different for every performance, thereby demonstrating her commitment to growth and readiness to embrace risks and potential failures. This growth mindset is something many established classical dancers and Gurus lack. Success is not eternal, and respect is not an entitlement - it requires ongoing effort and self-improvement. How many dancers and Gurus are willing to acknowledge their flaws and work on them? Embrace your ANTI-HERO! Inclusivity and Talent: Lessons from Taylor's backup dancers  Taylor Swift and her back-up dancers Have you noticed the diversity among Taylor's backup dancers? Her ensemble includes people of all colours, body shapes, and even visible conditions like vitiligo - an inclusivity that's rare and almost unheard of in the classical dance world. Are dance gurus willing to look beyond physical appearances and focus solely on talent? After all, everyone is paying the same fees, no? Ignoring this issue is cruel and perpetuates a toxic culture. It's almost inhuman to say "YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN, KID". Resilience: The core of survival in Art In the last issue of Narthaki, Dr. Anita Ratnam eloquently outlined the core values needed to thrive in the art form - resilience, among others. Taylor Swift has faced her share of hardships, disappointments and betrayals. Yet, she channels all of it into her art, which sets her apart. Classical dancers who complain about a lack of opportunities due to perceived Brahminical dominance should focus on first improving their art. Posting insinuating content on social media doesn't make you a resilient artist; it makes you a cry baby. LONG LIVE resilience! Art transcends the identity of the artist. It doesn't matter who the artist is or whether or not you like them. What matters is recognising the hard work behind their success and understanding that there's no such thing as effortless achievement. Enter the arena, fight like a gladiator, and don't hide behind the insecurities of social media. Mediocrity should be a punishable offense. Can you rise to the challenge? CAN YOU DO IT WITH A BROKEN HEART? In Summary Classical dancers must embrace rigorous training, adopt a growth mindset, and foster inclusivity based on talent. Resilience and hard work are crucial for success. Instead of complaining, it's time to step up and excel in the art form. It is rare, you should care, you will remember it ALL TOO WELL!  Originally from Bengaluru, Prakruthi Kolay moved to Germany 14 years ago. She has learnt Bharatanatyam from Gurus A. Lakshman and Bragha Bessell. Alongside her passion for dance, she works as an EFL/ESL teacher. Post your comments Pl provide your name and email id along with your comment. All appropriate comments posted with name & email id in the blog will also be featured in the site. |
