EXPERIMENTS IN CLASSICAL DANCE REPERTOIRE

 Written by: Gauri Gandhe

(2nd winner of NrutyaShabda Dance Essay Writing Competition, 2020, Senior Group, Organized by Samvaad Performing Arts Blog - Swarada Dhekane & Loud Applause Dance E- Magazine - Neha Muthiyan)

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul”

says Martha Graham. So very aptly said.

Dance is a classic and elegant way through which a dancer can express the feelings deep inside the soul. What is more interesting is, it is said that the soul is connected to the "Parameshwar". No wonder all Indian dance styles and their respective repertoires revolve around the different gods and goddess worshipped in the Hindu Culture.

It is quite obvious since most of the dance forms have their roots, origins in the temples or the people praising the lord. Indian dance is not just entertainment but an offering to the god. Also the repertoire has a specific layout and sequence in which the compositions are performed. It enhances the beauty of the art form. It appears like a neatly woven beautiful mat, each composition going hand in hand with the other involving the audience along with the dancer/s and the accompanists. More intricate the piece of art, more beautiful and mesmerizing the performance turns out to be. Of course, there is certainly great thinking of genius and learned minds behind the architecture of these repertoires. It always makes me wonder, how come these dance styles survived for so long? The dance styles that we all Indian dancers are proud of. A lot of thinking gave me my answer. All the dance styles have certainly seen ups and downs. But what made them survive through all these centuries is the constant change of the art form and the change artists have made in the performances as and when time demanded.

But these changes certainly are not random. Behind each and every change there is a thought. Thought, not just of a single person, but of many people. Debated and churned through centuries. Time tested. The most important thing I realized is that original infrastructure of these dance styles has not changed a lot. A good performance, even though the repertoire has changed, or the subject has changed from mythological stories to contemporary ones, always stuns the audience and earns accolades. That’s because the basics of that particular dance style are still the same. The adherence to Tala(Rhythm), Laya(Speed/Tempo) and perfection that comes through years of immense practice has not changed. The change or experiments in the repertoire, be it the theme/subject or sequence of the compositions will certainly help the art form grow, shed the old skin and emerge anew.

 
We can certainly adhere to the old traditional teachings and presentations, and adapt new ones as the time demands by not compromising the basic structure of the art form or its repertoire. Only then is it going to survive on test of time. The dance will be enriched, along with the artists and the audience.
Now, the basic concern is that how much liberty should an artist take to make some experiments work in a particular repertoire. If the compositions are considered, changing the speed or Laya of that particular composition or the rendition of that composition could be changed keeping in mind the basics of that particular dance style. Experimenting with new contemporary ideas or concepts while presenting is always welcome. If tradition goes hand in hand with the present time, the art form will certainly become more attractive and engaging. And that is exactly how we can attract the newer generation to these centuries old dance styles. With today's world which has an immense attraction of everything " Fast" and " Use and Throw", the repertoires of traditional dance styles have to come up with different ideas. Experimentation is necessary to keep the dance styles alive. The only threat is that of ruining the old, traditional way of presenting the dance. With experimenting too much we might lose the essence of the style. While doing so, we have to be extremely cautious not to harm or destroy the original structure of the style because that is where the beauty of the style lies. The original structure is the reason that these classical dance styles have survived all the odds and are still presented.

Then the question still remains, how can we experiment while still preserving the essence of the traditional styles?

We will have to inculcate the teachings of our Guru in a concrete manner. Our respect towards our teachers and Guru who molded us in such a way that we could be a small tiny part of this old splendid tradition is important. That will keep us strong and firm in the tornadoes of new thoughts and experimentation. That will help us think exactly how we should come up with new ideas while presenting or experimenting with the old traditional repertoire.

Our history and historical characters or saints, are very rarely painted through Indian classical dance styles. These historical characters can take the place sometimes of the age old mythological ones. Many eminent artists are already taking up such ideas while experimenting with the repertoire. But such experimentations are very few. Maintaining the basic structure of the repertoire or making some acceptable alterations, we can adapt new concepts. With respect to these new concepts or themes, artists can make changes in the traditional compositions and repertoire subsequently.

Even artists can take the liberty to present the beloved characters of dancers like Ram- Krishna, Shiva, Devi with a new perspective taking into consideration the changing attitudes of the new generation, but at the same time keeping the ideologies , philosophies or the mood of that character intact.

Nayika is very popular amongst all classical dance styles. All the Nayikas or the different categories of the lead female protagonist in a composition is a part every female dancer loves to portray. These Nayikas and their thoughts and presentations by dancers were very apt considering the structure and thought process of the then society. But now since things have changed, we can’t keep presenting the same Nayikas over and over again. The Nayika or for that matter even the Nayak(lead male protagonist presented by male dancers) have to make a change in their thought and obviously in the presentation. The Nayika can be no longer only dependent on the Nayak and thinking about him. There are many different things that today’s women are doing. Their thoughts, their attitude and perspective towards life, towards themselves and towards their male counterpart has changed immensely. It has to be reflected in the presentation.

Also talking about the Nritta part, new experiments could be made with the music ensemble, with the presentation of the pure dance or Nritta. Something which will inculcate the old traditional methods and adopt the requirements of the new times.

Experiments and changes are an inevitable part of life. It keeps " Life alive". But only changes made with deep thought and reverence to old valuable things will lead us to somewhere more elegant, mesmerizing and strong to sustain the blows of time.

That is how I think experimentation in classical dance should be. That is how it will keep evolving. The experiment has to come from within, it has to be genuine from heart. It has to come with the flow of our body and mind. Only then will it be successful.

For us dance is not just a body movement, it is the innermost expression of our soul, an offering of outmost purity.