What feelings does rain create on earth? As much as it creates joy, it equally devastates lives in the form of floods. The range of rasas that rain generates in people and other living beings was splendidly depicted in the final piece of Rasavriksha by mother-daughter duo Geeta and Sharanya Chandran recently at Pravaha , a dance festival curated by danseuse Sharmila Mukherjee, in memory of her guru, Kelucharan Mohapatra.
The senior Bharatanatyam artiste Geeta Chandran talks to The Hindu of her unique style and the future of performing arts in India. After a long panel discussion at Shoonya Art Centre, she grabs a chair for herself at the cafeteria and begins to discuss. Excerpts from the interview:
You have pushed boundaries of existing Bharatanatyam vocabulary, music, movement and costume in your four decade career as a dancer. At the same time, your roots are steeped in the classical. How do you balance ?
I have stayed so long in the tradition of Bharatanatyam that my experience enables me to stretch its boundary when required. For one of my productions, Kaikeyi, for instance, I realised the existing vocabulary of Bharatanatyam was not sufficient to showcase the valour of warrior women. Therefore, I received a rigorous three-month training in a martial arts form and got a theatre person to direct the production for me.
I have been collaborating with performing artistes belonging to various other traditions throughout my career and it has enriched my style immensely. Collaborations across traditions not only enriches the production by bringing new elements to it but also challenges the artiste to think beyond her own form/discipline.
For interdisciplinary projects with professionals who are not performing artistes, do you think some training in any of the performing arts would be ideal?
Indeed, it makes them better informed of what the artiste expects from them. One has to be introduced to performing arts early in life and the best way to expose children to a variety of art forms is in schools.
It is in this background that I am working with Springdales and Shiv Nadar schools in Delhi to create a general curriculum of art appreciation for school children.
Performing arts should not be meant only for annual day functions but must be seen as an instrument to transform education. How beautiful would it be if teachers are able to view things from children’s perspective? Training in the arts sensitises people and helps them look at the world holistically.
Should classical dancers engage with contemporary themes?
It is never a must. I did it because I was troubled by what was happening with my close circle of friends. Despite good education and belonging to the top strata of society, my women friends had to go through a lot in their personal lives. This prompted me to take up productions on issues related to women. However, if it is not an inner urge, it becomes propaganda.
Certain dancers despite their training under eminent gurus begin to stagnate in their mid-career due to various reasons - family, financial demands etc.
Firstly, dance is not just about performance. We have got this wrong because our dance pedagogy does this to us.
Dance training in India has become completely performance oriented.
But there are so many areas in the field of dance that one can engage with apart from performance, per se.
Dance choreography, curation, management, writing, photography, costume designing etc. to name a few. Some of them can even be financially rewarding. They have to see what aspect of dance they are good at and make that their niche.
In the times of live webcasts, there is also emergence of many intimate spaces in cities. How do you think audience would prefer to watch dance in future?
Live-streaming of performances does not provide a full-sensual experience. The very fact that it is not happening in one’s immediate surroundings makes it unreal.
Live performances are here to stay despite technological advancements. Intimate spaces these days are gathering a more discerning audience which motivates an artiste to give her best. These spaces are best suited for solo performances, for both established and upcoming artistes. They also act as centres that provide prompt feedback.
