Taking Bharatanatyam places
In a presentation by Padmashri Geeta Chandran’s dance company, Natya Vriksha called
Anekanta last November, Sharanya Chandran relates how the Bharatanatyam renditions were
inspired by roots of Jaina philosophy. The audience in Delhi were stoked by how
the traditional dance form was exploring the existence of multiple truths of
life. Opposites could co-exist. While the grammar of the dance form was intact,
the dancers experimented with stage design, stagecraft, music, movements and
choreography. Says Sharanya, “To
translate the very abstract theme of Anekanta into an aesthetic visual
experience, we tried multiple choreographic devices. For instance, there was a segment on how the alarippu (the first pure item taught to any student of Bharatanatyam)
could be performed differently using various rhythmic interplays but they all converge
in the sama (last beat).” The ancient
dance form communicated this universal philosophy innovatively. Anekanta will be staged tomorrow at India Habitat Centre. You mustn't be missing it.
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PIc by Akash Das |
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Pic by Inni Singh |
A mix of rhythm and improvisation speckles Sharanya Chandran’s
body of work. A few years back when she was sharing the stage with her mother and revered guru, at Sankat Mochan Festival in Varanasi,
every watcher noted how unfazed she was by her mother’s manodharma (improvisations). Sharanya seamlessly matched up. Says Dr Geeta
Chandran, “Sharanya had imbibed the art of manodharma,
of creating at the spur of the moment. That tells me that she is on course. And
she always puts in her best.”
That is what Sharanya loves doing the most---improvising while on
stage. “Because I have a formal training in nattuvangam
I instantly respond to the musical surprises through mudras and abhinaya. One
is able to fly while still holding on to
Bharatanatyam’s core vocabulary,” says Sharanya, who has received
heavy accolades for hertalent and work over the years. Says Dr Nita Vidyarthi,
dance critic, about
Sharanya, “Her
urge to co-ordinate movements of the body in response to the beats of the
nattuvangam and mridangam seems inborn.”
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Pic by Husain Ehtisham |
Adapting to new ideas and innovation is the call of the hour, she
feels. “We constantly respond to the revolutions in space design, music and
time but there has to be a deft balance to retain the core
grammar and aesthetic of the style.” Earlier traditional
Bharatanatyam was a solo art form. With larger spaces available, duets and
group recitals have become common, providing the opportunity for
innovative choreographies. However,
there are challenges too. With reduced demand and budgets for having live music
for dance, often one has to perform to recorded music, which minimizes scope
for improvisation on the spur of the moment, the dancer laments.
Then there is also the growing challenge of
reaching out to diverse audiences, “For instance, we have taken the iconography
of Shiva and performed it to an English script to try and bridge the language
gap for certain audiences. Once there is a core understanding and connection with
this imagery, shiva stutis or similar
compositions in Tamil, Telegu or Sanskrit become a lot easier for audiences to
relate to,” says Sharanya, who holds a Masters degree from
the London School of Economics in Development Studies. On any given day, this
dancer can be seen multi-tasking. She does her solo rehearsals in the
mornings and group practise in the evenings. During the day, she works at the
intersection of rigorous research and policy for solving key development
challenges in South Asia as she is a developmental professional in the policy
space.
Sharanya was one of the focal dancers of Sankriti, a group
showcase conceptualised by Odissi danseuse, Madhavi Mudgal. “The showcase, an amalgamation of five
classical dance forms, travelled to US, Thailand and several parts of India,”
she says.
The youth ambassador to multiple youth and art
communities, Sharanya is also the vice president of Natya Vriksha. These youth
forums, she feels, are one of the best means of generating awareness on
classical dance. “Through the global shapers community, the youth initiative of
the World Economic Forum, I am spreading the message of classical dance. This
being the year of India and Japan friendly ties, I am part of the youth
delegation to Japan this May for an exchange programme where my key goal would
be to spread awareness about the beauty and potential
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Pic by Preeti Mann |
Sharanya feels the dance scene has changed quite a bit over the past
decade or so. For one, there seem to be more dancers taking up dance full-time. There is more demand for group work, and multi-style
collaborations for big events and spaces by sponsors and event organizers.
Also, budgets for classical dance are shrinking, be this from the government or
then corporate sponsorship. Despite the new CSR ruling, preference of domestic
donors still seems to be in funding more visible assets and development
programmes (e.g. construction of a skills or education centre, etc.) than the
more intangible interventions such as
preservation of Indian culture and
heritage. There are a lot of compromises dancers need to make today for
securing performance opportunities, especially with the meagre or non-existent
payments for concerts. I have made a conscious choice to cross subsidize
through my other (better paying) passions, so as to taking up performances on
my terms and conditions and not those solely set by the organizers.
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Pic by Akash Das |
But perhaps, there is a bigger way through which
Sharanya is advocating change. “I singularly avoid those pieces that propagate
caste hierarchy and project women in an inferior/ unequal light. Change is what
you do on stage, and also the things that you choose to not do. Through this choice I
shall communicate the change,” she rounds off.
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