The 7th INDICA Meta-Retreat “Indian Classical Dance: Beyond Proscenium – Seeking new directions,” held at Bilvam Foundation, Tiruvannamalai, from 27-20 September was a platform for dancers, thinkers, and connoisseurs of dance to come together and discuss matters that deeply concern them and their art.
The world of performing arts depends on various dynamic factors such as the audience, conducive stage, and availability of musicians. For classical dance, these factors are even more critical. The retreat sought to explore - how can we take dance to the community instead of bringing the community to the proscenium, as has been the case for the last sixty or seventy years and is it time to reflect on our past and future to find more enduring ways to present our dance.
Founder and Artistic Director of Feet on Earth, Pujita Krishna has an eclectic academic and professional background. A Kuchipudi dancer and writer primarily, she has had a diverse career spanning several areas such as media, films, journalism, community work, teaching and training. In this interview she talks about the retreat, which she headed.
What was the main purpose and take away of the IKS Metaretreat on dance held by INDICA?
The dance world is usually very exclusivist. Perhaps not intentionally so but more so because of the nature of the vocation. It is highly segregated today especially because of the different forms and the many variations of the styles practised depending on the parampara one belongs to. Dancers rarely have an opportunity to dialogue with one another on the challenges and difficulties they may be facing in the field. That said, there is a need for practitioners of any discipline to meet and interact on a platform where there may express their views freely without the fear of being judged.
At the meta-retreat organised recently by INDICA, the cohorts had several lively and engaging interactions looking at dance from unique perspectives. For instance, one of the questions that emerged from the discussions was: ‘Is dance a kala or a vidya?’
The other very important takeaway was the need to inculcate dance literacy among the young at school level. Only then can we truly create a sympathetic community of rasikas. Dancers we have aplenty but rasikas are a vanishing breed!
Dance is about a traditional form, its philosophy, the transmission and the performer. How are these integrated when a dancer goes up on stage?
Well, we use the word dance loosely. There are so many dance forms all around the world.
But, if we were to restrict ourselves to Indian classical forms then straightaway, there is the awareness that these forms originated from deep traditions - temple worship rituals or ancient theatre practices etc. Dance as a practice has enduring connections with our collective consciousness as sanatanis. Music and dance have traditionally been part of temple nitya and naimittya seva.
Fortunately, hereditary practitioners have passed down these traditions, albeit in a diluted form in their modern interpretations to us, be it Bharatanatyam or Kuchipudi or Kathakali or Sattriya or any other form.
The training method - guru and shishya - inculcates a sense of reverence through the knowledge transmission. Hence, the preparation of the dancer begins with the rites of passage that the training seamlessly incorporates in itself. For example, the simple act of touching the ground before beginning one’s practice or being bare footed while dancing.
Furthermore, the material that the dancer deals with is purely rooted in dharmic sensibilities- the music, the aharya, the literature etc.
By the time, the dancer goes up on stage, she fully embodies these values.
How can artists be changemakers in society through performance?
In my opinion, an artist need not take on the lofty responsibility of transforming a society. One can’t equate what an artist does to what an activist or a social worker does! These are two different paradigms.
Having said that, the artist transforms in a different way entirely. The transformation is deeply internal, psychological or even spiritual through what the shastras define as rasotpatti- creation of rasa in a sahrdaya (a person who has come to the performance with an intention to be touched and an evolved understanding of what the performance entails).
A performance that doesn’t do that at some point or the other, may have failed in its purpose.
I don’t think dance is necessarily pedantic in its intent but it does seek to establish an emotional rapport and maybe also provoke the viewer to think in a certain way.
How does dance transform the artist from body to mind, to spirit, to the divine?
While dance as a traditional structure has an inherent design to invoke and harness one’s energies in a powerful way, I don’t know if every practitioner follows the above trajectory of body, mind, spirit and divine.
Obviously, dance has a strong potential to transform the body beginning with the way one holds and carries one self, a studied grace usually becomes an inalienable part of one’s physicality. Dance requires so much intense focus, alertness and awareness at all times that the mind acquires some stillness over time- now, this is not something that happens to everybody mind you, but yes, dance does have the potential to transform the mind in that fashion.
As far as recognition of the inner spirit and divine is concerned, once again, dance does have the ability to bring the dancer closer to the inner spirit and divinity but that happens in rare cases. Recognising the inner spirit or getting atmagyana cannot be guaranteed through the practice of dance, it requires a lot more effort and self-study on the part of the individual concerned. Frankly, not everyone may be interested in going in that direction!
What has been your journey in the arts and what importance would you ascribe to it in a child's life?
My journey in the arts, particularly dance has been very checkered. I began dancing for all the superficial reasons: I dare say, all the reasons that most people are attracted to it for. The attraction of movement is also instinctual, naturally that had some role to play in my being drawn to it. While I received early training to some degree, it was only much later that I began to pursue it more seriously and earnestly. Dance has taken centre stage over the years and has made me push my boundaries physically, psychologically and spiritually. I have added layers to my understanding of life among other things through the prism of dance.
But, I do think that education in music and dance must begin early in life. Only then, I think, the truly transformative power of these two vidyas can be experienced and witnessed. In today’s times when children belonging to Hindu families are becoming increasingly distanced from their roots, music and dance can very easily bridge that gap and bring them closer to their culture and heritage.
How imperative is it for artists to come together and have such conversations and exchanges?
Very important. As already mentioned, dancers often live in silos and the fact that the field of dance is so competitive doesn’t make it any easier. So the importance of these exchanges can’t be stressed enough.
