Dance Drama, Natya Nadakam, New Choreography, Dance Ballet and so on, are the many names by which most of the new works presented or premiered are called. Having observed these productions over a period of time now, probably it is also time to add the term GROUP DANCING for recent productions, for quite often that is what it is all about — group dancing.
In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the number of dance productions finding favour over solo performances in sabhas. It is convenient and comfortable for both the organisers and the dancers. It ensures a larger audience representation of kith and kin of the participating artistes which pleases the organisers, and it also augurs well for the dance schools by giving opportunities to a large number of their students to dance on the stage. Sabhas, dancers and rasikas carry on with no yardstick for quality analysis. What is the outcome of all this?
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The birth of Kalakshetra is an important chapter in the history of Bharatanatyam and Rukmini Devi brought in changes in the art form by refining them. She produced a series of Natya Nadakam and these provided opportunities for her students and also threw the spotlight on our epics and folklore. Even today, more than fifty years since they were premiered, these productions continue to fascinate viewers and are acclaimed for the high standards of excellence. What sustains them, when many of the recent productions disappear after a few shows.
The main reason was that Rukmini Devi sought out and nurtured artistes of great calibre in every field of allied arts, motivating them to excel in their creative output. Similar to a corporate head of a company, she ensured that all these artistes worked together towards the final goal of giving shape to a product. A visionary with a discerning eye, she had the ability to interweave disciplines harmoniously into a wholesome tapestry.
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We have come a full circle today. With a phenomenal growth of the art and mushrooming of dance schools, supply far exceeding the demand, these productions are the order of the day. So, how do they work? The themes, generally are based on mythology and folklore — Ramayana, Mahabharata, Krishna, Siva, Devi, Balaji, Shakuntala, Andal, Meera, Patriotic heroes, Kuravanji and Panchatantra stories. The productions go through a long process from ideation to implementation.
Lyrics are culled from various literary sources, writers and lyricists create a narrative structure, the composer comes up with a musical score in alignment with the choreography taking into account, costume, set and lighting design.
Decline in quality
There seems to be a marked decline in the quality of the dance productions owing to many factors. The themes do not challenge the dancers to come up with fresh perspectives that could excite the viewer.
The various disciplines of music, lyric and movement work as individual entities and not as a creative collaborative exercise. The choreography is devised to accommodate a large number of students and so often a large group of dancers moves across the stage in various formations, and quite frequently are used as fillers between scenes. When they have not rehearsed well, the movements lack co-ordination.
Most productions these days resort to the use of multimedia back-screen projections and it is pertinent to incorporate them into a choreographic work to enhance its visual appeal. But often the lack of a clear understanding of the varied disciplines leads to a lot of confusion with the background projections disturbing the flow of the dance movements.
Costumes hinge on a palette, which works on the more-the-merrier philosophy without consideration for colour balance and sensibility. Technical glitzes, use of props, lack of adequate rehearsals result in productions which are simply not aesthetic and often amateurish.
It is here that a rasika comes in to play an important role of being a discerning viewer, applauding and supporting good work and dismissing the bad. He needs to shed his complacency and voice his opinion, which will go a long way in setting aesthetic standards and inspiring artistes to aim for excellence so that the productions come alive with creativity and not end up as mere group dance .