Strong yet supple would be a good way of describing Alarmel Valli – whether of her lithe figure and graceful movements, or of her Bharatanatyam for which she has created her own insignia.
The dancer's strength comes from the solid foundation laid by the Pandanalloor bani to which she belongs to. But tradition holds no bar as she traverses the ample space that it holds for creativity and individuality. Her guru, Chokkalingam Pillai, ingrained in her the rules and grammar of dance, but he also impressed upon his student to “express and enjoy.” The Pandanalloor style used to be rather stiff in the olden days and this guru probably takes the credit for having filled it with graceful lines. “He wanted us to be graceful and firm,” reminiscences Valli. “He used to say that our arms should roll out rather than being thrown out.”
Over the years one develops an awareness of the aesthetics of Bharatanatyam, says Valli. She sees it as a fine balance between rules and creativity. If and when Alarmel Valli tends to go overboard with innovation, her mother, Uma Muthukumaraswamy, acts as moderator, saying “Ithu unmaya theriyale” (this doesn't ring true). Uma has been Valli's mentor, guide and manager for many years. Until recently, she used to travel with Valli on all her tours, both in and out of the country.
Watching Alarmel Valli dance is to see poetry in motion. Her intimate relationship with poetry and music finds sublime expression in her dance. Thus rare gems from Sangam poetry to contemporary English verses by Arundhati Subramaniam are given another dimension when she blends the rich harmony of words, music and movement.
For Valli, a dance is a poem through which she shows you the view from a different angle. “It is an experience that I wish to convey to you. After watching it, you should feel not just excitement, but a lingering happiness within.” While choreographing, she works hard to create this effect and she works closely with her musicians Prema Ramamoorthy, Lalgudi Ganesh, and Raj Kumar Bharathi, to name a few. To them Valli suggests a stringing of swaras that sound like the buzzing of a bee, a silent interlude to accentuate a particular situation, or a simple tinkling of a cow bell to portray the desolation of the nayika on a cold winter's night. Her early musical training under the legendary T. Muktha has helped her understand the rich connection between words and music, brought out so beautifully as she “writes with her body” and “sings through her dance.”
And she has sung and danced all over the world. The West is a fantastic place to dance, she says, referring to audiences abroad. But she feels that the way in which Indian classical dance is dissected, categorised and labelled at the hands of academicians and theoreticians who have missed its essence, but claim authority, is deeply distressing. Also disturbing is the fact that many Indian dancers are re-inventing their dance to suit these parameters. “It is a culture that we are surrendering body and soul,” laments Alarmel.
Rich and multi-dimensional
She goes on to say: “Indian classical dance is a rich tradition that is multi-dimensional and flexible enough to be able to express anything you want to. Why twist it out of shape in the name of being ‘contemporary'?”
Alarmel also feels no pressure to make social commentaries through her dance. “The beauty of our classical art is that it affects you and changes you deep within to make you a better person. Our dance has that transcendental quality,” she avers. Valli remembers an incident when, after watching her performance, a cancer patient came up to her and said “The pain has gone away.” She considers this as one of the best awards that she has received – a proof of her purpose.
Awards aplenty have come her way – the Padmabhushan included. Yet greatness sits lightly on her frail shoulders as she mingles freely with aspiring students of dance. “I am still just a student,” she says with disarming humility – words that could come only from a person deeply spiritual and totally at peace with oneself. And Alarmel Valli is just that.
