Bharatanatyam music composer Sudha Raghunathan and Kathak-guru Prerana Shrimali tellUK Banerjee how Bharatanatyam keeps gaining from Carnatic literature and how many times a Kathak dancer appears on stage with a new percussionist and her announcement is the only clue that the latter has of what is to come
Choreography in dance has evolved rapidly all over the world. Methods of composition vary radically — some choreographers using their dancers’ improvisations as raw material, others devising every movement prior to rehearsal. Some Western choreographers radically changed the context for choreography in their attitude to music and decor as coincidental (rather than collaborative or supportive) to dance, in their employment of chance methods in dance composition and organisation, and in their use of non-theatrical performance-space. Some others became leading exponents of classical or abstract dance; and yet others produced major representational works of choreography.
The only absolute rules in choreography today appear to be that it should impose order upon dance beyond the level of pure improvisation and that it should shape dance in the three dimensions of space and the fourth dimension of time, as well as according to the potential of the human body. Early modern dance in the West introduced new elements of movement and expression. Some choreographic works emphasised more naturalistic styles and more potent theatrical image than had others rooting for classicism. Since then, choreographic forms have varied widely between the poles of representation and abstraction.
As was evident from the recently-held IIC Spring Festival — Passing on a Tradition, Guru and Disciple, the two opposites, namely, representation and abstraction, were most clearly defined in Indian classical dances as nritya and nritta respectively. This came out most vividly in guru Geeta Chandran’a corpus at her institution Natya Vriksha, ably represented by Sneha Chakradhar. With music composed by the talented Sudha Raghunathan, Sneha began with the poet Nirula’s famous poem: Vasant Aay set in raga Vasnat Vahar. The cuckoo-calls, the peacock’s prances and the floral exuberance of the vernal season came through in her nritya very well. Next was an elaborate varnam in raga Carnatic Kafi, in alternate nritya and nritta, in picturesque choreography. Then there was a padam, in raga Suruti, to present in nritya a Khandita Nayika (quer- ulous heroine): throwing away her faithless lover. Her final item, in contrast, was a brilliant tillana in pure nritta.
Shivalika Katana, disciple of the Kathak-guru Prerana Shrimali, took the stage next and did ample justice to the preference for nritta in her Jaipur legacy. Her unusual opening was a hymn — Chandra Chandrey, Surya Suriye… by Guru Arjan Singh from the 10th Skanda of Guru Granth Sahab, with competence. Her absolute forte was tatkar (footwork) in her nritta. For instance, her gat bhav, gat nikash andpadhant were all well-executed, needing her devoted attention to abhinaya on the nritya front.
Extracts from interaction with the Bharatanatyam music composer:
Does the dance-form keep gaining from the rich Carnatic literatureIJ
Absolutely, all the time. I’ve myself been able to add music to some exquisite poetry for the dance-repertoire
Has Hindustani classical music been made use ofIJ
Since I’m brought up in the North, I’ve set a lot of Hindi poetry to music for broadening the dance-horizon. I’ve done these songs in Hindustani ragas, utilising more ofmeend (glides) and less of Carnatic gamaka (oscillations) in the process.
Have new themes been added to ahitya through your effortsIJ
The very advantage of being in North India has been to look for new pastures in northern literature: over and above the common Carnatic corpus.
Extracts from interaction with the Kathak guru:
What’s the kind of choreographic training you recommendIJ
In learning, I whole-heartedly recommend: Deeksha-Shiksha-Pareeksha (initiation-education-evaluation) in that order. Having been groomed by the celebrated guru Kundanlal Gangani in Jaipur gharana, I consider myself still in the Shiksha stage, with all the potential for Pareeksha lying open before me.
Kathak dancers still prefer a lec-dem mode to a set sequence in their performance…
It has been a very distinctive tradition to talk about one’s choreography to the viewers. Even noted Bharatanatyam dancers like Alarmel Valli, Rama Vaidyanathan and Malavika Sarukkai introduce their items to the audience.
Does your approach not take away the freshness of fully-choreographed itemsIJ
On the contrary, it leaves open a huge scope for innovation. You’ll be surprised to know how many times a Kathak dancer appears on stage with a new percussionist and her announcement is the only clue that the latter has about what’s to come.