I remember one time when a friend and I were asked to perform at an inauguration ceremony. I was so proud of myself for having asked for all the details - stage dimensions, availability of a sound system, green rooms, mirrors ... There was a time when I took all of that for granted. Experience taught me to ask questions without caring if the questions sounded stupid and pointless.I had all the details well in time to start choreographing. Covering stage space is an important part of dance, so we worked things out accordingly.We got there and saw all the arrangements that had been made. There was a long table covered with a white table-cloth on the stage. There were glasses of water on the table and chairs behind the table.Again at the risk of sounding inane, I asked, "The table will be moved, right?""No, it's nailed to the stage."I wondered if he was joking. But no, … [Read more...]
Experiences on Stage IV
Every time my sister Nisha and I performed in France, we had far less time to practise than usual. The last two performances were easier - we practised long distance on Skype before meeting and practising. Before that, it was individual, separate efforts, followed by coordination once I reached France.I remember the time we performed at Aix-en-Provence. We practised, of course we did. But there's some amount of choreography that changes every time we perform. Even when we perform the same piece with another dancer, we do not perform it in exactly the same way. We keep the other performer in mind, if nothing else.For this particular performance, as a duet, there were several things that we did in a kind of mirror-formation. I did the right side, while she did the left. I never practised the left side; she never practised right.And then, somehow, we got disoriented on stage.We … [Read more...]
The Oberon Trio
Wow...In class III, I learned a poem about five kittens in a basket. There was one line that said 'Each one when I pet it seems surely the best'. As The Oberon Trio played, each piece as they played it seemed surely the best.At the end of their Haydn, I could not decide which movement I enjoyed the most. I have no idea how long or short the piece was.At the end of their Brahms, I could not decide which of the instruments I enjoyed most. I wanted to keep listening to all of them.At the end of their Shostakovich, I did not want an encore because I was just so moved by the piece and its emotions. My eyes were filled; I could not say a word. P.S. 1: The violinist's eyes made me think of what Georgette Heyer always describes as 'fine grey eyes'.P.S. 2: Needless to say, The Oberon Trio made me contribute far more than I've ever put into a donation box before. … [Read more...]
Gulaal – a festival of expression
Day one of Indian Rhythm and Arts Association's Gulaal was wonderful. We went essentially for Alarmel Valli's performance, but were blown away by the second part of the evening - Nandita Das's Between the Lines.Valli, in keeping with the season, performed two pieces on spring and concluded with a Nritta Lahiri. The upper part of her body was magnificent. Her adherence to the symmetry of Bharatanatyam with the precision of each movement was fabulous, as far as her torso went. What I truly enjoyed was the subtlety of her expression. Many great dancers today seem to me to be moving away from the Natyadharmi towards the Lokadharmi, making a perfectly beautiful dance distasteful to me. Valli's portrayal of the ten rasas was beautifully done, with a gentle but distinguishable flow from one rasa to the next. Her shringara did not cross the limit (my idea of the limit) even once! Yet, her … [Read more...]
Experiences on Stage III
Performing in Chidambaram is an experience that any dancer would cherish. Mythologically, it is the place where Lord Shiva came and danced the Ananda Tandava, at the request of the sages. The golden temple of Chidambaram finds its way into many traditional songs, thanks to its splendour and history.When we danced there, one of the pieces we performed was, once again, the much-loved Draupadi Vastra Haran. As usual, I was Dusshasan; this time, my teacher was Shakuni. We were on stage, in the middle of the drama when the music suddenly skipped back. Dancers on stage must never show nervousness, we knew that. The problem was that we had no idea how far back the music had skipped.That's when the real drama began. Duryodhan turns to Dusshasan and asks in dance parlance, "Where are we? What part of the music is this?"Dusshasan calmly replies, "We have a lot of … [Read more...]
Getting into the mood
Before any performance, my dance teacher encourages us not to talk about anything unrelated to dance and the programme ahead of us. She asks us to be silent, thinking about what lies ahead of us, meditating in our own ways. In keeping with the idea, if ever we dance to recorded music, I try and play the music while we get ready. Make-up is a long and tedious process, and having the music in the background helps us settle into the mood of the performance. I also play the music in the car while getting to the venue, to avoid getting stressed about the traffic and the stares we get, dressed as we are in full costume.As usual, when a friend and I were to perform at Softbridge Solutions, Magarpatta City, we played the music during our long journey there. Entering the township, we were happily in the mood to perform together, having spoken of very little apart from the presentation and … [Read more...]
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan
I listened to Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan and they were beautiful. In fact, I listened to many musicians over the last few days, and enjoyed most.Yet, when I watched and listened to Ustad Amjad Ali Khan - again - I realised what makes me fall in love with him every time, year after year, concert after concert. I love that his climax in each raag does not border on noise. He takes you all the way up to a crescendo and then gently falls into the softest and most tender of notes. That makes him incomparable. He lets you fall so gently and beautifully that you smile and sometimes, even laugh. That kind of laughter is particularly beautiful because it's like a child's laugh of pure joy, not adult laughter that finds something humorous. I love how he flies with his instrument, smiling as he plays - and, yes, I do love how he plays for an audience. He takes the audience with him on his journey, … [Read more...]
Raghurajpur
If you have a day in Puri, visit Raghurajpur. You can see the Konark temple in history textbooks; you can't see the little craft village with all its passion and creativity.Raghurajpur is famous for painting on Tussar silk and for its palm-leaf engraving. Watching the process of engraving palm leaves was fascinating, as was noticing the attention to detail in each engraving. It was magical to see a splotch of ink on a palm leaf being transformed into a beautiful engraving that would last four hundred years.Even so, more appealing than all this are the artists themselves. Yes, they try and sell everything to you, but the moment you buy something very small and show them that you love their art, they open their hearts to you. They joyfully show you their masterpieces even though they know you are in absolutely no position to buy them. They truly are artists, showing you their work just … [Read more...]