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RASHMEE Z AHMED
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2004 11:06:22 PM ]
LONDON: From ballet to Bharatnatyam - one of the world's leading
centres of contemporary dance is to lead the West on its first steps
towards recognising Indian classical dance as an appropriate
classical basis for modern multi-lingual movement on stage.
Britain's all set to offer its first undergraduate degree course in
Indian classical dance just five months from now. The move will break
one of the biggest taboos in Western classical dance tradition by
elevating Bharatnatyam's `arai mandi' to ballet's arabesque.
According to dance educationists, Europe had till now seen ballet as
the only supporting classical discipline for contemporary innovation.
For 20-odd years, British Asian choreographers like Shobana Jeyasingh
struggled to drum up credibility for pieces in which dance steps were
rooted in the grammar of Bharatnatyam even though the sensibility was
British.
But now, the specialised phrasing of Kathak, Odissi, Manipuri,
Kuchipudi or Mohiniattam dancers will be a kosher base for Western
expression.
It is a big step for South Asian dance because it can re-direct
global expectations of contemporary dance, says Dr Nigel Morgan of
London Contemporary Dance School, which will launch the course.
"The LCDS's conservatoire is widely held to be at the cutting edge of
choreography. It's radical if belated recognition of Indian dance
could set the ball rolling and change the very language of dance,"
Morgan said.
The conservatoire is in a central London complex called `The Place',
which choreographed a European revolution through its association
with Martha Graham, the US legend who embodied modern dance.
A pleased Jeyasingh said the new course laid an important foundation
for Indian classical dance to transfix the world. "Its newfound
legitimacy would allow mutating societies to be multi-lingual in
movement, like in all other spheres of our diverse lives," she said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-623362,curpg-2.cms
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