Essays on Classical Indian Dance PDF
Preview Essays on Classical Indian Dance
Essays on Classical Indian Dance Essays on Classical Indian Dance Donovan Roebert Published by Jenny Stanford Publishing Pte. Ltd. Level 34, Centennial Tower 3 Temasek Avenue Singapore 039190 Email: [email protected] Web: www.jennystanford.com British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Essays on Classical Indian Dance Text copyright © 2021 Donovan Roebert Photographs copyright © 2021 Arun Kumar Cover photograph: Krithika Vellapan, Kalasrishti School of Performing Arts, Cary (front), Farah Yasmeen Shaik (back), Director of Noorani Dance, Menlo Park All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the publisher. For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher. ISBN 978-981-4877-47-3 (Hardcover) ISBN 978-1-003-12113-8 (eBook) Contents Acknowledgements ix 1 On the Means and Ends of Rasa in Classical Indian Dance 1 2 Classical Indian Dance as Sadhana: Some Notes Inviting Elaboration 9 3 The Classical Indian Dancer as Poet, Interpreter, and Poem Itself: Some Simple Comments 15 4 Classical Indian Dance and the Western Rasika: A Storm in a Teacup 19 5 On the Principle and Significance of Pratitya Samutpada in Classical Indian Dance 23 6 On Nritta: The Suspended Consummation of the Tale 31 7 Classical Indian Dance as a Discipline of Thought 37 8 On the Ghungroos: Ankle-Bells of Servitude, and Mastery 43 9 The Space Between the Notes: Heather Lewis’s Remarkable Shastric Tour de Force 47 10 When is the Rasika Really a Rasika? 55 11 On the Gramma of Classical Indian Dance: A Grecian Perspective 61 12 Writing The Odissi Girl: A Literary Analogue for the Dance 67 13 The Presence of the Absent Dancer 77 14 The Triumph of Mylapore Gauri Ammal: A Short Incursion into Dance Genetics 83 vi c o n t e n t s 15 The Language of the Dancing Body in Nritta: Part One 93 16 The Language of the Dancing Body in Nritta: Part Two 99 17 Eight Unities Re-enacted in Classical Indian Dance 103 18 Five Ways of Dancing That Get in the Way of Dance 111 19 The Preservation of Classical Indian Dance in Postmodernity 115 20 The Tenacious Survival of Classicism in Indian Dance 121 21 The Humanization of Rhythm and Form in Classical Indian Dance 127 22 The Problem of the Pushpanjali 133 23 Surprised by Dance: A Glimpse into my Personal Journey 139 24 Classical Indian Dance is a Humanism 145 25 Dance, Analysis, and the Willing Suspension of Disbelief 151 26 The Multilocality of Classical Indian Dance 157 27 On the Terrible Beauty of Moksha in Odissi 163 28 Jayantika: Archaeology and Imagination in the Reincarnation of Odissi 169 29 Sanjukta Panigrahi’s Contribution to Odissi: 1944–1964 181 30 The Foundational Ambiguity in Classical Indian Dance 257 31 The Karma of Classicism in Indian Dance 261 32 A Note of Thanks 267 33 On the Dancing Feet 271 34 Rukmini Devi and the Devadasi Question: An Opinion 275 35 A Note on Sringara Rasa 289 36 Classical Indian Dance at the Crossroads 295 Contents vii 37 On Filming Classical Indian Dance 305 38 Rasa in Filmed Classical Indian Dance 311 39 The Ineffable in Classical Indian Dance 317 40 On the Movement from One Adavu to the Next 323 41 The Personal Approach to Dance Criticism 327 42 The Sanitizing and Cleansing of Bharata Natyam 333 43 On ‘Pseudo-Spirituality’ in Classical Indian Dance 339 44 On the Freedom of Odissi to be Itself 347 45 Why I Choose to Write about Classical Indian Dance 353 46 Classical Indian Dance and Social Justice Activism 359 47 In Search of the Basis of ‘Spirituality’ in Classical Indian Dance 365 Index 371 Acknowledgements It would be impossible to personally thank the many dancers and dance scholars who encouraged, debated, criticized and sometimes heatedly argued over these essays, now published, but then only available at my blog. To all those who interacted with me during those months I extend my grateful thanks, but especially to Heather Lewis, who believed from the start that this work should end up between covers. My thanks are due also to Madhumita Raut for some interesting pointers in the development of Odissi and, indeed, to Guru Mayadhar Raut himself, at whose home in Delhi I first became acquainted with the dance at first hand in the company of the exquisite dancer Aadya Kaktikar. I must record my deep gratitude to Madhavi Puranam and the trustees of the Nartanam Journal for the materials they put at my disposal for my long essay on Sanjukta Panigrahi, and in particular for sending to me the edition which deals with the Jayantika papers, edited by Dr Ileana Citaristi. For other kind assistance in this regard I am grateful also to Kedar Mishra and Sabyasachi Panigrahi, Sanjukta’s son, who provided many anecdotes, facts and dates that otherwise would not have been available to me. Other sources, too many to list here, are acknowledged in the references attached to the essay. To Dr Swarnamalya Ganesh, Dr Anita Ratnam and Aadya Kaktikar, I am grateful for reading the essays and taking the time out of their busy schedules to compose reviews of the finished work. Finally, I must express my heartfelt thanks to Arun Kumar, who generously provided the many beautiful photographs that illustrate these pages, and to the dancers who so graciously agreed to have their photographs appear in this book.
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