A very dear friend of my sister's organised a performance for us at a chapel in Renage. That was when we learned what effective publicity is.Michèle, who, I should mention, is in her seventies, did absolutely everything to make people come for our performance. She, helped by two friends, went (literally) from pillar to post putting up posters. She made signs to direct people to the chapel, and went and put them up on lamp-posts. When we drove towards the chapel, we saw our own faces everywhere. Every wall, every lamp-post, every pillar had a poster of our performance thanks to this formidable lady. She sat and folded the programmes for the performance - easily a hundred or more - insisting that she had nothing else to do, while we, the dancers, ought to rest. She went individually to each neighbour and convinced all her friends that they would not get the opportunity to watch a … [Read more...]
Arangetram!
Anushka Iyer and Riya Dash will be performing their Arangetram today!The Arangetram is the maiden performance of a dancer, during which she attempts to convey her understanding of her art form to a discerning audience in the presence of her guru.Venue: Tilak Smarak Mandir Date and time: 28th June 2013; 17:45 Credits Nattuvangam: Guru Smt Mythili Raghavan Vocal: Shri Sivaprasad Mridangam: Shri Shankar Narayanan Violin: Shri Bala Subhramanyan Make-up: Shri Mohan and Smt Lakshmi Comperes: Aishwerya Sudarshan, Nisha Seshan, Varsha Seshan … [Read more...]
Nritya Tarangini
Day 1: I wondered whether I would get anything out of the workshop conducted by the Dhananjayans. I wondered whether it was all worth it. We were learning a piece that was getting totally jumbled in my head. There were too many episodes and at the end of the day, I could not even remember the music.Day 2: I knew it was worth it. I understood why Dhananjayan Anna and Shanta Akka have played Rama and Sita so often. Anna's gentle humour, Akka's quiet poise. I remembered when I went with my teacher to their place while Akka was taking class. I could barely take my eyes off her. 68 now, and still so beautiful. In her own words, Anna is the architect and she is the engineer. I watched her teaching. I realised how similar she is to my teacher and I realised once again how blessed I am.Day 3: A performance at Tilak Smarak Mandir. Of course there were parts I did not enjoy. It's part of the … [Read more...]
‘Shiva’
Last evening's performance at Bal Shikshan was a visual treat. Of course there were things I did not like. I did not like the opening piece or the concluding peace. I found them most peculiar. Yet, there is something about the perfection of classical dance well performed that cannot be compared to anything else.Vaibhav Arekar and his troupe performed a beautiful collection of dances - united by the theme of Shiv. There were some pieces I'd watched before. There's one that brings tears to my eyes every time - the story of an untouchable devotee of Shiva who wants a glimpse of the shivalingam inside the temple.Spurned by the higher castes, Nandan hides, crouches, apologetic about his very existence. When higher caste women see him, they recoil in disgust. He cringes, almost trying to become invisible. Yet, when everyone else finishes the prescribed rituals and has gone, Nandan goes … [Read more...]
Experiences on Stage – V
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...]