She surges ahead of storm-tossed seas, strides across tough terrain and emerges successful with every venture she undertakes. Meet the indefatigable RK Usha, the crusader for traditional dance forms. Presently based in Delhi as an art consultant with the Sangeet Natak Akademi, this artiste-turned-media person-turned revivalist of sorts, has already created waves in the very short time of her tenure in Delhi. The dance productions under her aegis read like a book. Excerpts from a tete-a-tete:
What inspired you to take up this onerous task? It’s no cakewalk to catapult unknown artistes to the forefront and establish them, is it?
There was always this urge to do something for the dance form which I so dearly loved, learnt and performed. As we grow in age we realise, it’s enough of taking; the time to give back has come. In the present day scenario the future of traditional dance like Bharatanatyam is bleak. For one the profile of audience has changed. The same margam repertoire cannot attract new viewers unless the artiste is a famous name to reckon with. I wondered how to go about it. My years of experience with the corporate sector marketing and sales and also media has helped me evolve a formula.
What was the formula?
The mind works on consistent visibility and volume of visibility helps in the sales of a product. I applied this sutra to dance. I chose ten dancers who I felt had brilliant potential and kept projecting them through thematic presentations. Of these, I feel at least 3-4 would become famous depending upon various other factors also like luck, etc. Consistency will give them visibility and this in turn helps them to build up a volume of work. Why thematic you may ask? These days everything, from clothes to food, has a theme and that’s what makes it unique, acceptable and desirable.
I don’t encourage defiance of tradition and run towards contemporary. Classical is so called because it has stood the test of time and also it is applicable to all times. All I do is to revisit the traditional with a theme or concept and bring about a change in perspective of what is already in existence in our tradition.
How and when it did it all begin?
I moved to Bangalore from Mumbai my birthplace where I had also worked for quite sometime. In 2007, inspired by Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna’s rendition of Bhadrachala Ramadasu kritis, I decided to pool young talent, all male dancers and present an evening of dance only on Ramadasu compositions at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. The thematic dance was the first of its kind. Initially Mathoor Krishnamurthy of Bhavan’s had been very sceptical of my concept when I went to request him for the auditorium free of cost as I couldn’t afford to pay then. But all the same he consented to be the chief guest. I was stupefied when I found him giving a standing ovation at the end of the programme. He told me that he had given the Governor’s meet a miss since the boy dancers kept him glued to his seat! This really gave me the much-needed fillip to go ahead with concept programmes. And they followed one another in a line.
That brings us to the very mundane issue of finances. How do you fund your projects in a cost-effective manner?
I took the cue from the old film days of Mumbai when actors were on pay rolls. I prepared a break-up of everything: the major expense in a dance is the orchestra artistes. No dancer can fund his/her orchestra for that would leave them with a gaping hole in their pockets. Next came the venue on hire and invitations. I went about requesting the venue for free for one evening and to my luck, I never got a no for an answer. As for the invites, many of my friends generally chip in with their share just to prop up my good work. I calculated that I would present eight programmes in two years. I had some hand-me-down properties which I disposed of and deposited a fairly good amount in a bank. The quarterly interest proceeds from this, I decided to spend on my plans to nurture young talent and establish them on stage as future artistes to look forward to. I do odd jobs like writing to fund my excess expenditures if any. To be honest, my orchestra artistes appreciate my efforts where they are also projected and charge me nominal fee.
Now that you have moved to Delhi, isn’t it tough to realise your ideology here?
I am a never-say-die person. I continued with thematic presentations here and it started clicking from day one. It is my ambition to make these aspiring dancers into thinking artistes who would work on the concept I give them, learn and research, choreograph it themselves or with the help of their gurus and do their best in the group. This will shake up their complacency, awaken creativity and help them forge ahead to carve a niche in future. My Divya trilogy presentation Divya Astra, Divya Vahana and Divya Pushpa were instant hits. So was my theme on Kshetra: Varanasi –Thanjavur Lord Shiva . I oversee the concept of course though the artistes are free to work on the theme. My objective is to showcase our hoary heritage in a way that it appeals to both the commoner and connoisseur.
