Odissi dancer Aadya Kaktikar is the first-ever Indian student at Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), UK. She spoke to Utpal K Banerjee about her analysis of the guru shishya parampara
Aadya Kaktikar has been groomed under guru-shishya parampara for more than two decades from the institution of Mayadhar Raut School of Odissi Dance. So when she feels the need of pursuing a Masters programme in Teaching dance and that too from one of the most noted centres of the West, Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), UK, one has to sit up and take notice. What is so special about teaching-learningIJ Perhaps she takes an inspiration from renowned Odissi dancer, also from Maharashtra, who too felt that learning Odissi can go beyond mere form and technique. Thirty five years ago, Rohini went to her great guru, Kelucharan Mohapatra, and realised that learning Odissi was, in essence, power of reflection, joy of small things, creativity in every form of life and, above all, ability to play.
Here are excerpts from an e-mail interview with Aadya.
What is the new face of Odissi dance according to youIJ
There is no subject that is untouched by the effects of post-modernisation, questioning and critical reflection has become the way forward. Dance is no exception. At a time when scholarship and performance is generally divorced from each other, I am attempting to bridge this gap. Strong performance skills, grounding in the traditional theories through my training with my guru and an academic, practice-based, research-oriented training through the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), london, has become a unique combination. Therefore, I believe the new face of Odissi is a dancer who is able to move beyond the nomenclature of traditional and modern, seamlessly blending the two together through performance supported by academic rigour.
What is new about your choice of Shiva-ShaktiIJ
The concept of ‘new’ and ‘creativity’ as we talk of today has Euro-American connotations. Recent research has shown that the concept is seen very differently through the lens of the Indian worldview. As an Indian my creativity moves inwards and the process is more important than the product. Yes, Shiva-Shakti is an often repeated theme and the theme is not as critical as what I do with it as a dancer. The ‘new’ in the choreography is me, my process of owning and representing my guru’s work. Our attempts to validate our works through the new and creative theories of the West are those that remain from the post-colonial era. Yes and I say this even as I am studying at RAD. In fact, I am more aware of this now, than I was before I had undertaken my studies.
What new themes do you visualise beyond mythologyIJ
Dance is a language and like any other language, it can be used to express any idea. Mythology has been a favourite subject for dancers because of the range of emotive possibilities it provides. Classical dance is primarily an emotive art. Therefore any theme that provides it with the landscape to use this tool is an apt theme for dance.
What is choreography to youIJ
The process of choreography, to me, is more than just putting together music and dance. A good piece, whether in pure dance or abhinaya, is multi-layered with many subtle nuances. In all these years, thanks to my training with Madhumita didi, I have mastered some of guruji’s masterpieces and have seen him compose. My creative inputs have been more academic. In 2010, I wrote Odissi Yaatra, Guru Mayadhar Raut’s biography. The book talks in detail about the renaissance years of Odissi and is illustrated with rare pictures from guruji’s collection. Now my work with the RAD, studying and analysing dance and its teaching through areas like cultural studies, leading to learning, etc, takes up a lot of my time.
What is the special benefit you derive from RADIJ
My training with RAD has equipped me with an evaluative eye to study dance, broadened my perspective on what is happening with dance all over the world and deepened my own understanding of my art, traditions and training. My purpose of joining RAD was to learn practice-based research methods; a practice with is absent in India till date. Since I am pursuing a Masters in Teaching Dance, an in-depth study of pedagogy and learning is integral to the course-structure. I believe that there is a divergence of theory, research and performance in our country and therefore those who dance do not research and those who research do not dance! Our dance traditions are very rich, with a great depth of knowledge. There was a time when dancers of great repute were also great scholars. But due to a general lack of scholarship, dance seems to lay emphasis on performance alone. Now the flavour of depth has gone; the husk remains.
I am the first-ever Indian student at RAD, and therefore having me study with them, I think, has been quite a learning experience for them as well! I seem to stand for everything that they thought was not possible with dance and its training.
What is pedagogyIJ
The traditional guru shishya parampara has been, in recent times, either been completely criticised or completely defended. Part of my recent work at RAD has been to analyse this tradition. What surprised me was that the new constructive pedagogy, based on the principle of multiple intelligences, socio-developmental learning and context-specific assessment were in practice in India centuries ago! Sadly, most dancers and teachers are unaware and don’t see their teaching methods. My work at RAD has given me the tools and the vocabulary to access this area of study. My analysis also showed that the contingent conditions to the working of this pedagogy no longer hold true. For example, the traditional method involved intense and close student-teacher relationship, so much so that the student lived with the teacher, which is no longer possible. Therefore, instead of completely disowning the practice, one needs to look at methods like technology, to increase this interaction time. There is a lot of work done on the history of Indian dance both ancient and post-colonial. However, work related to more contemporary issues like multi-disciplinary studies, creativity and pedagogy are still at a very nascent stage in Indian dance and need to be addressed.
Aadya will present Shiva-Shakti today at India International Center.