Ballet has always been a window of opportunities. Be it modern dance, contemporary dance or hip-hop, the pliés, demi-pliés and pointés will mould you in a number of ways, making the body accessible. As ballet continues to gain currency in the Indian sub-continent, which is already culturally bursting at the seams, it is no surprise that more professional performances are coming our way, one after the other. After the recent “Swan Lake”, which was entirely done by a Russian repertory, we now have gala performance, that showcases Indian and international dancers together for the first time. The International Ballet and Contemporary Dance Festival, India, is all set for its cultural extravaganza.
But ballet still remains fairly undernourished in India. “The festivals are a good start, but there are no professional academies that train dancers over a period of time, certifying them,” says Ritika Chandra, choreographer and performer. Chandra knew she wanted to be a ballerina at five and began her professional training at 11. After some early training in India with individual teachers, Chandra went on to pursue her a career at the Kirov Academy of Dance in Washington DC, later training and performing with many other academies of international repute, like Cincinnati Ballet and Washington Ballet. Her repertoire includes “Don Quixote”, “Scheherazade”, “Swan Lake”, “Le Corsaire”, “Raymonda”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “La Bayadere” and “Nutcracker”.
In May, Chandra opened her own studio, Elan Ballet, here in Delhi. With Elan Ballet, Chandra is eventually hoping for an eight-year foundation course.
“We have a lot of talented ballet dancers but most of them end up giving up a career in ballet in India due to lack of opportunities. It almost comes to a complete halt, which is a pity. Not all of us can afford to go abroad and enrol ourselves in academies,” says Chandra.
Lack of training also means lack of awareness. Chandra claims that plié, pirouettes and grand jetés often become the base for the movements in contemporary or modern dance forms. She also says that it is the same muscle groups involved, which need to be trained a certain way. Rightly so, as modern and contemporary broke out of ballet many years ago, because of tremendous dancers like Isadora Duncan, who broke conventions.
Chandra says that with the festival, she seeks to bridge the gap between Indian and international artistes in whatever capacities she can. “Often, I have seen dancers feel vulnerable because someone else has had a more professional training or started younger. Perhaps, it is time to overcome these insecurities and showcase what is simply good,” she adds.
The right age
Collaborating with Chandra for the festival is Valentin Bartes, a veteran ballerino from Romania. Bartes argues that the most crucial thing about ballet training is to start at the right age. “Five is too young, 18 is too old. Ten is the ideal age to begin. I am not saying that one cannot dance at other ages, but starting at the right age means you prevent a lot of injuries, your body listens to you and you have impeccable control,” says Bartes. “As far as India is concerned, I see a lot of potential here. Maybe if we start now, we would be able to develop that culture in 30 or 40 years. One festival or two shows will not give you the whole picture,” he adds.
Bartes began his training under his father at a young age at the Romanian National Ballet School in Cluj-Napoca. His repertoire includes leading roles in “Swan Lake”, “Giselle”, “Don Quixote”, “Le Corsaire”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “La Bayadere”, “La Fille Mal Gardée”, “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”, “Requiem” (Mozart), to name only a few.
Valentin Bartes in performance
“Back then, ballet was the train to leave the country. I only wanted to travel because I saw my father travel a lot. You were either a good dancer or you stayed home, there was no middle ground to this. I left what was then Yugoslavia at the age of 18,” says Bartes. Since then, Bartes has travelled world over and lived in Japan and USA, where he met Chandra.
The festival is also the coming together of three countries. Along with Chandra's Elan Ballet (India) and Bartes's Arte Italia Cultural Association (Italy), are accomplished dancers and companies like Roberta Ferrara's Equilibrio Dinamico Ensemble (Italy), Yukiko Iwata's Iwata Ballet Academy (Japan) and Damien Lee Stirk, who will perform. The festival will showcase a mix bag of six classical ballet pieces like La Bayadere and excerpts from the Nutcracker, along with six contemporary, one jazz and one gymnastics performances by 45 artistes.
(The International Ballet and Contemporary Dance Festival, India, will take place at Kamani Auditorium on December 15, from 6:45pm onwards.)
