Eternal India Encyclopedia

DANCE

encyclopedia

Among the devotional dances are the

Raas

and

Garbha

Gujarat and the

Beesu Kamsale

of Karnataka in which the perform-

ers dance to the accompaniment of the cymbals

(Kamsale

) while

singing the praises of Lord Shiva.

There are a variety of dances with sticks called

Kolata

in the

south and

Dandia

in the north. Each dancer holds sticks in her/his

hands and wields them dexterously providing rhythm to their dance.

Another intricate variety is that of using coloured cords of ropes

which are fixed to the branch of the tree or a stand. The dancers

hold one strand of the rope in one hand; and a stick in the other, and

dance in circles weaving a plait. Then they go counter clock-wise

unwinding the plait — this variety is associated with the agricultur-

ists and are known in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as

Jade Kolata

and

Pinnal Kolata

respectively. In Gujarat it is known as

GoufRas.

Bhoota

of Karnataka,

Theyyam

and other varieties of Kerala

are ritualistic dances performed to appease spirits.

The

Lambadi

dance is performed by the women of a distinct

race (originally from Rajasthan settled in parts of Andhra

Pradesh). This gypsy race adorn themselves with bright costumes

and sing songs in their language, a mixture of Marathi and Rajast-

hani.

Garudi Gombe

(doll) is a purely pro-

fessional entertaining art form of most of

the districts of south Karnataka which is

performed in open fields in villages during

festivals and other occasions,

Somana

Kunita

is performed in the vicinity of the

temples.

Hejje

Mela is a special dance form

resembling the

Suggi

dance, performed on

the occasion of

Moharram

in North Karna-

taka.

BALLET -- DANCE DRAMA

Successful attempts have been made

to draw out the best elements from both

the classical and folk dancers of India to

compose ballets and dance-dramas. A

striking feature of the modern ballet is a

blending of folk art with classical styles to

convey the ideals of life. This is very much

in keeping with our tradition set by Nan-

dikeshwara that "dance is something more

than entertainment... it is a means to fulfill

a higher end..."

Uday Shankar pioneered the cause of

ballet,

especially

contemporary

ballet,

bringing everyday life closer to dance by

taking up the burning topics of the day for

his themes.

This gained momentum when celeb-

rities like Rabindranath Tagore began pre-

senting operas and ballets. Some dancers

and institutions took up mythological

themes only for portrayal like Rukmini

Devi and Menaka to name a few and insti-

tutions like the Bharatiya Kala Kendra,

Natya Ballet Centre (Delhi) etc.

Gopinath's Natya Niketan, Rukmini Devi's Kalakshetra, Mri-

nalini Sarabai's Darpana, Shanti Bardhan's Little Ballet troupe,

Narendra Sharma's Bhumika and Natya Institute of Kathak and

Choreography in Bangalore are some of the institutions which have

made invaluable contributions to ballet.

There are some choreographers who have as in the modern

dance of the West, chosen the abstract and symbolic media using

the 'primary impulses of the body' for the interpretation of themes.

Mention may be made of Chandralekha and others.

There are some who take the combination of narrative with

the extension of the classical dance movements presented with

good stagecraft to project their ideas or messages.

Contemporary Exponents

: Classical dance exponents like

Mrinalini Sarabhai, MayaRao, Birju Maharaj, Kumudini Lakhia and

exponents of the free dance style like Narendra Sharma, Sachin

Shankar and Prabhat Ganguly are some of the choreographers

worthy of mention. "Darpana Academy" at Ahmedabad, Natya In-

stitute of Kathak and Choreography, first in Delhi and now at

Bangalore, Kadamb at Ahmedabad, Kathak Kendra at Delhi are

ballet centres to reckon, with in this sphere.

THE WESTERN PIONEERS

From 1906 there has been an interest among Western danc-

ers and choreographers to explore Indian themes and present them

in their repertoire. The first who popularised Indian themes were

Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. Ruth St. Denis presented dances

Radha, The Incense, The Cobras, The Nautch, The Lotus Pond.

Along with her husband Ted Shawn she choreographed

The Cosmic

Dance of Shiva

and

Radha and Krishna.

Anna Pavlova, a Russian ballerina invited Uday Shankar to

choreograph a dance sequence called

Radha and Krishna

and to

partner her in the number as Krishna. She was so inspired by India

that she visited India along with her company to study more of the

country's dance heritage.

Ragini Devi, La Meri and Louise Lightfoot also kindled

awareness for Indian dance both in India and abroad.

Ragini Devi wrote

Nrittanjali

in 1928, the first book on Indian

dance in English. She was also the first lady to join the Kerala

Kalamandalam. Ragini Devi chose Gopinath as her partner and

both performed outside Kerala. They were hailed as the harbingers

of a new era in Indian dance. Ragini also was the first to popularise

Kathakali abroad.

La Meri, another American dancer, was influenced by Ruth St.

Denis and Shankar. She Choreographed a number of full-length

ballets and short dances. Louise Lightfoot, a ballet dancer, was

inspired by Pavlova. She studied at Kalamandalam and organised a

troupe of Kathakali dancers with Ananda Shivaram as the principal

dancer. She also included Manipuri in the repertoire after studying

the art from Priyagopal Singh.

Louise Lightfoot introduced Kathakali and Manipuri princi-

pally to Australia, New Zealand and other countries. Many danc-

ers evolved a style of their own by drawing upon the rich treasure of

Indian classical dance forms: among them are Sadhana Bose and

Moni Bardhan.

(M.R.)

Birju Maharaj

Uday Shankar

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