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Erasing
Borders: Festival of Indian dance: A reflection
August 27,
2008
Using the available cultural tools to raise questions from within in order to question social boundaries is another avenue to "erasing borders." This was precisely the intention of the performances by Sudarshan Belsare and Nayikas Dance Theater and Rudrakshya. Belsare's work used Buddhist mythology based on the story of the goddess Kurukulla in order to question dominant notions of maleness as a prerequisite for the achievement of enlightenment. The performances by Nayikas and Rudrakshya, in contrast, used the dance idiom of Odissi to depict the idea of the Ardhanarishwara in order to critically reflect on the socially constructed borders of male and female that comprise gendered social arrangements. While a noble objective, the choreographers needed to place this "nonsexist" tool within the broader frame of sexism that is very much a part of at least Hinduism. Also, the sacred thread worn by the dancers in Rudrakshya that represent membership in the upper castes within the Hindu tradition challenged the choreographers stated goal of "erasing borders."
So, I come
back to the two questions I raised in the beginning of this review. Firstly,
is it possible to "erase borders?" The uneven global space that we occupy
makes it difficult to do so. At least in the works of Chatterjea and Colaco
what I presumed is a desire to erase signs of the local in order to make
the product palatable to the "global" (read: Western) audience. This form
of packaging of issues by both choreographers was likely to have fed the
Western liberal mind that feels the need to rescue the oppressed, especially
those in the Third World. In that case, instead of "erasing borders," the
existing ones are simply being reinforced. Secondly, what does it mean
to "erase borders?" As the performances of Singh and Sinha show, it is
necessary to attain deep knowledge and understanding of the local in order
to build bridges and create a kind of global that is able to respect and
grant legitimacy to all involved. To put it in a slightly different way,
understanding the self, howsoever defined, is a necessary prerequisite
for building relationships, and hence, it is also a necessary prerequisite
for the eventual erasure of borders.
Diditi Mitra is a Sociologist, Kathak dancer, and a member of Courtyard Dancers, a Philadelphia based dance theater group. |
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Expanding
one's sense of self and space that embraces stories of people who are seemingly
different is one pathway to "erasing borders." Maria Colaco's choreography
on the Kashmiri carpet weavers attempted to do so by stretching the national
and cultural borders to include stories of people that are clearly distinct
from hers as a South Asian American woman. Similarly, Ananya Chatterjea's
performance on the ongoing struggle for land rights by women of Nandigram,
West Bengal demonstrated a need to widen one's world to include places
and people who may seem disconnected from our everyday lives, but are certainly
part of the global space that all of us inhabit. A global social consciousness
and a desire to understand connections between multiple social realities
that were evidenced in the choreographies of Colaco and Chatterjea are
certainly commendable and much needed.
However,
Colaco and Chatterjea's choreographies would have been strengthened by
a more careful consideration of the contexts in which the Kashmiri carpet
weavers and the women of Nandigram are located. The costumes that reflected
the aesthetic of the local were an important way in which the stories could
have been contextualized. Whereas the dancers in Sath Safed wore
costumes that are typically associated with modern dancers, the dancers
in Daak wore costumes that reminded me of army fatigues. It was
difficult for me to relate the bodies on stage to the people whose stories
were being told. The static dance movements and the facial expressions,
especially in Daak, may have also been a reason why I was unable
to visualize and feel the people on whom the narrative was based. Additionally,
the choice of background score exoticised the local. Burial and/or marketing
of the local in order to imagine the global only silenced the voices from
below and reproduced the very hierarchies that Colaco and Chatterjea set
out to dismantle.
Integration
of diverse cultural forms for the development of something new is another
way to break down barriers. I found Daniel Phoenix Singh and Roger Sinha's
mélange of at least modern and Bharatanatyam to be absolutely delightful.
Their dancing reflected their versatility and their skillfulness as dancers.
The ease with which they moved demonstrated their embodiment of both modern
dance and Bharatanatyam. Their keen musical sensibilities were also reflected
in their choice of music and its use as a tool to enhance their performances.
The effective use of space by both groups of dancers further enhanced their
choreographies. Through their choreographies, both Singh and Sinha, were
able to show the importance of respecting the local for an honest attempt
in "erasing borders."